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Time to break outyour party dress.

(You might think twice about the up-do.)

Alumni honors. Sat., May 2, 2009. Be there or be square.The University of San Diego invites you to its signature alumni event. Join fellow alumni and the

campus community at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Reception at 5:30 p.m. Dinner at 6:15 p.m.

Call (619) 260-4819 or go to www.sandiego.edu/alumni/honors.

53431U_BC_05:49756USD_BC_3 1/28/09 5:02 PM Page D

Live the moment. Dream the future.From iconic clothing to awesome Torero gear to unique gifts, the newly revamped

USD Bookstore has everything you need to keep the University of San Diego close,

no matter where you are. Drop by or shop online. We’re only a click away.

USD Bookstore • www.usdbookstore.com

S P EC I A L THANKS TO MODEL S K E V IN BARRE T T ' 9 5 , AUDREY BARRE T T ‘ 0 8 ( P h . D . ) AND W I L L I AM BARRE T T ' 2 9

53431U_BC_05:49756USD_BC_3 1/28/09 5:02 PM Page 1

U S D M AG A Z I N E2

D E P A R T M E N T S

A R O U N D T H E W O R L D

6 / Faces in the Mirror

Task force aims to take action to bring change

to the campus culture.

8 / Becoming the Solution

The IPJ’s Dustin Sharp decided early in his career to use his

law degree to stand up for international victims of atrocities.

9 / Secret Gardens

Student artists collaborate, critique and showcase one another’s

work, developing their own unique aesthetic vision.

10 / Quiet on the Set!

From prisons to presidents, freelance camera operator-turned-

media services manager Ed Ybarra has seen it all first-hand.

TO R E R O AT H L E T I C S

12 / Belles of the Ball

Women’s basketball team looks to return to the Big Dance this

season, relying on teamwork every step of the way.

O N T H E C O V E R

P O I N T O F V I E W

16 / Running Wild

When she got her law

degree, Joyce Tischler

knew exactly what she

loved. She just didn’t

expect to be able to make

a living doing it.

1 8 / S O YO U WA N T TO B E A R O C K A N D R O L L S TA R

From NFL quarterbacks to peacemakers-in-training, from

gifted scholars and researchers to altruistic physicians, the

University of San Diego has produced rock stars in all sorts

of wildly disparate fields. Our alumni, faculty and parents

are sure to inspire; come take a backstage tour behind the

scenes. Oh, and get ready to rock.

S P E A K I N S E C R E T A L P H A B E T S .

N O T H I N G Y O U C A N S I N G T H A T C A N ’ T B E S U N G .

12

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USD MAGAZINE

ON THE COVER:

Illustration by Alisa Burke.

To learn more about her art,

go to www.alisaburke.com.

Find our pages online at

www.sandiego.edu/usdmag.

53431U_BC_05:49756USD_BC_3 1/29/09 6:08 PM Page 2

SPRING 2009 3

CLASS NOTES

32 / Breaking the Cycle

Don Morgan ’95 helps inner-city youth find

new directions through the nonprofit

organization he founded, Urban Compass.

36 / Chic Dreams

If you’re looking for style, ease and affordability, just ask the

online world’s Hostess with the Mostess, Jennifer Sbranti ’99.

44 / The Glamour of it All

From politics to pop culture, Larry King’s supervising producer,

Allison Marsh ’98, strives to keep the news fresh on a daily basis.

49 / Sixty Years and Counting

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the

University of San Diego; read remembrances from those who were

there at the beginning.

C L A S S N O T E S TH E M I N O R FA L L , T H E M A J O R L I F T.

ALUMNI UPDATE

14 / Three’s Company

Tough economy translates to

business opportunity for

1986 graduates Ed Aloe, Pat

Wakeman and Mark Mozilo,

who have formed a multi-

faceted company together.

22 / INTO THE SWIM

In 2008, Rendy Lynn

Opdycke ’06 made the

history books by shattering

the record for completing

the “Triple Crown” of

marathon swimming. The

call of open water still

beckons. In spite of complex

logistics, frigid temp-era-

tures and daunting swells,

she’s still fired up about life

underwater.

26 / FAMILY AFFAIR

Beloved physician Michael

Bajo sent 6 of his 15 chil-

dren to USD. His legacy

includes playing for the

Chicago White Sox, caring

for wounded soldiers in

World War II and delivering

more than 11,000 babies.

30 / LAW AND ORDER

As a lawyer for the Inter-

national Criminal Court,

Kristen Bowman ’96 faces

tough challenges: Helping

to bring those responsible

for some of the world’s most

egregious crimes against

humanity to justice.

3214

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TH E S T O R Y A LWAY S O L D A N D A LWAY S N E W .CONTENTS

22

THE WORD S S H E K NOWS , T H E T U N E S H E H UM S .

53431U_BC_05:49756USD_BC_3 1/28/09 5:03 PM Page 3

[ e d i t o r / s e n i o r d i r e c t o r ]Julene Snyderjulene@sandiego.edu

[ s e n i o r c r e a t i v e d i r e c t o r ]Barbara Fergusonbarbaraf@sandiego.edu

[ a s s i s t a n t e d i t o r ]Kelly Knufkenkellyk@sandiego.edu

[ c o n t r i b u t i n g w r i t e r ]Ryan T. Blystonerblystone@sandiego.edu

[ c o p y e d i t o r ]Fawnee Evnochides

[ e d i t o r i a l a s s i s t a n t ]Stefanie Wray ‘08

[ i l l u s t r a t i o n s ]Alisa Burke

[ w e b s i t e ]www.sandiego.edu/usdmag

[ p r e s i d e n t ]Mary E. Lyons, Ph.D.

[ v i c e p r e s i d e n t o f u n i v e r s i t y r e l a t i o n s ]Timothy L. O’Malley, Ph.D.

[ a s s i s t a n t v i c e p r e s i d e n to f p u b l i c a f f a i r s ]Pamela Gray Payton

[ u s d m a g a z i n e ]is published by the University of San Diego for its alumni, parents and friends. Editorial offices: USDMagazine, University Communications,University of San Diego, 5998 AlcaláPark, San Diego, CA 92110. Third-classpostage paid at San Diego, CA 92110.USD phone number (619) 260-4600.

Postmaster: Send address changes toUSD Magazine, UniversityCommunications, University of SanDiego, 5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA 92110.

USD Magazine is printed with vegetable-based inks on paper certified in accord-ance to FSC standards, which support environmentally appropriate,socially beneficial and economicallyviable management of the world’s forests.

[0209/53600]

U N I V E R S I T Y O F S A N D I E G O

USD MAGAZINE

round our house, it was show tunes mostly. On occasion, there’d be a wild forayinto edgier genres epitomized by vocalists like Perry Como, Barbra Streisand orDean Martin, but for the most part, when a record album was ceremoniously

placed on the turntable, it was along the lines of The Sound of Music or Man of LaMancha or Fiddler on the Roof. It wasn’t until sixth grade that I figured out that this sort of music was Seriously

Uncool. Why so late? Well, for a bookworm with no older siblings and parents who hadan ironclad rule that the driver always chose the radio station, there just wasn’t muchopportunity for me to become aware of the audio revolution going on. (In fact, I was so

out of touch, when a cool kid in the library got excited and started playing air guitar when he saw the book Iwas checking out — a science-fiction yarn by Robert Heinlein called The Rolling Stones — I had no idea whatwas happening. I may have thought he was having a seizure.) But Christmas changed everything. Under the tree, I unwrapped my very own transistor radio. I do believe

I shrieked with joy, uncaring that it only picked up AM stations. For the next 12 hours, that tinny black oblongbox was glued to my ear. I heard George Harrison singing about “My Sweet Lord,” the Jackson Five lamenting“Never Can Say Goodbye,” Carlos Santana yearning for a “Black Magic Woman,” Ike and Tina Turner’s incendiaryversion of “Proud Mary” … well, you get the idea.It was a long way from the easy listening station, let me tell you.Now, of course I didn’t go straight from “If I Were a Rich Man” to “A Day in the Life.” For example, the first

album I bought with my own money was (shudder) The Best of Bread, and my first 45 was Don McLean’s“American Pie” (which, truth be told, I still sort of love). But once I got a taste of real rock and roll, of the waythe music could move you, I never looked back. In the years since, I’ve seen hundreds of bands, collected thousands of songs, and sung along to the car

radio more times that I can count, just about always with the windows rolled down and the volume turned up. I’ve had all sorts of soundtracks to my life, and the trigger to memory is, more often than not, hearing acertain song brings back key moments with razor-sharp clarity. Eventually, I even found a way to make a living by combining my two very favorite things — music and

writing — and wound up building a pretty enviable life that involved a modest bit of acclaim, copiousamounts of free music, and a chance to meet, interview and write about bona fide rock stars. One of the main things these larger-than-life icons had in common with one another was passion. Whatever

their genre — rock, hip-hop, folk, blues, techno, metal, whatever — the most extraordinary rock stars werethe ones who cared so much it was almost painful to hear them talk about their music. They infected me withthe desire to care that much about my own work and fired me up to be the very best writer I could be. To me, it’s that sort of zeal that makes a person a rock star. Whether or not you ever take the stage, if you

can inspire others with your enthusiasm, if you give it your all, whatever “it” is — congratulations, you are a rock star. And this issue is packed with that exact sort of rock star. While none of them have sold out an arena (not

yet, anyway), all of them are awesome enough to inspire a standing ovation. Oh, and if you’re like me, you’ll enjoy the issue even better if you read it while accompanied by your favorite

song. Can music save your mortal soul? Debatable. But if you ask me, it’s simply not possible to be too old torock and roll.

— Julene Snyder, Editor

U S D M AG A Z I N E4

LIGHT MY FIREDon’t eve r doubt the t r ans fo rmat i ve power o f ro ck and ro l l

[ f r e e b i r d ]

E D I TO R I A L L I C E N S EE D I TO R I A L L I C E N S E

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5SPRING 2009

Chill InducingI got goose bumps readingJulene Snyder’s “London Calling”article in the most recent issue of USD Magazine (Fall 2008).

In 2005, I was one of a handfulof students studying Plays inProduction with professors DavidHay and Cynthia Caywood. Thearticle took me right back to thatwonderful experience, whereevery day held a new fascinationand the next lesson was just atube ride away. The program didnot have a community serviceaspect when I attended it; I am soglad that the students are gettingto experience yet another facet ofthat wonderful city while servingas impressive ambassadors for

our school and our country. I saw eight shows while I was

in London; under Professor Hay’srating system I deemed most ofthem to be “very good,” but Iwould categorize both my expe-rience there and this article as“exceptional.”

— Rhiannon (Annie) Toth ‘07

Ambivalent ReactionAs someone who’s been a part of the Jamaica program since thevery beginning, I’m writing in reference to the story “Stir It Up”(Fall 2008). I feel conflicted aboutthe way the selections from thestudents’ essays portray the pro-gram and, even more so, all that

we have been able to accomplishdown there. There’s sort of a“woe is me”/negative sense tothe words.

In my opinion, Tim Mantoani’samazing photos tell a much bet-ter story than the essay excerpts.The photos portray the joy, thecommunity, the love of life, thestudents' service; a messagethat’s almost contradictory tothe way that the essay excerptsportray the program. Eventhough it’s crucial to highlightsuch issues and provide a voicefor them, I still feel we should bepositive about what we've donedown there and present it in a

more optimistic light. After all,you can't help the world betteritself (or Jamaica, for that mat-ter) in just three weeks.

Still, it's awesome to see such a story in USD Magazine. Eventhough I’m feeling conflicted, I’m definitely appreciative of thepress. There's no such thing asbad publicity, right?

— John C. Egan ‘08

Lasting InfluenceI want to second the sentimentsof Paul Bain ‘01 regarding JohnBowman in your latest issue(“Letters,” Fall 2008). John wasmy English teacher at St.Augustine (Saints) in the mid-‘60s — sophomore and senioryears, I believe. There were twoor three others who alsoinspired me at Saints, but Mr.Bowman was the one who influ-enced me to take English as mymajor at USD.

I graduated in ’73 — the samenight he got his master’s, by theway — and along with my par-ents, he gave me a lifelong loveof reading. I probably wouldhave gone on to teaching if notlured to a job with the State ofCalifornia In 1977. I may yet sub-stitute teach if I can ever affordto retire.

One quirk I picked up from Mr. Bowman was the habit ofalways having a pen and notepadhandy. He used to tell us to keepthem by your bed in case yougot a brilliant idea in the middleof the night. I haven’t yet but stillhave the tools ready just in case.Oh, and John still comes to ourclass of 1966 Saints reunions and looks great.

Our eldest daughter, Meridith,fell in love with USD when Ishowed her around and shegraduated with a pre-law major

in 2005. She just finished up atUSF Law and we’re waiting onher bar results.

—Tom Miller ‘73

First Class PhotosI just wanted to let you knowhow beautiful the latest issue ofUSD Magazine is. The photogra-phy that was captured in thisissue for the international focus

is second to none. I particularlyappreciated seeing Joanna Cole’ssimply gorgeous photo from heradventure in Liberia (“Changethe World, Transform Yourself”).The brief write up regarding hertime with Mercy Ships was alsocompelling. Again, nice job! Youshould feel very proud.

— Coreen Petti, Assistant Vice President, Marketing and Strategic

Partnerships

Write us . . .

We welcome letters to the

editor about articles in the

magazine. Letters may be

edited for length and clarity,

and must include a daytime

phone number. Write: Editor,

USD Magazine, 5998 Alcalá

Park, San Diego, CA 92110.

E-mail: letters@sandiego.edu.

[ c o r r e s p o n d e n c e ]

LETTERS TO THE EDITORLETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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USD MAGAZINE6

AROUND THE PARK

AROUND THE PARK A

ROUND THE PARK A

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ROUND THE PARK

Awoman born in Pakistanand raised in Englandbreaks from traditional

gender role expectations tobecome a microbiologist anduniversity administrator. A manfrom inner-city Cleveland risesabove presumed racial limitationsto educate others about culturalidentity. A woman finds thestrength to embrace her sexualorientation while working throughlaw school to help fight injustice. The plot lines seem tailor-made

for cinematic drama. And, in a way,

they are. The personal storiesshared by Assistant Dean NeenaDin, Professor Carlton Floyd andlaw student Jesse Zaylia areamong the first in a series ofvideo interviews intended tospark discussion about promotingand improving diversity at USD. These vignettes are just one facet

of a widespread effort being spear-headed by “On Our Campus@USD”(OOC), a task force created after the President’s Advisory Board on Inclusion and Diversity(PABID) was formed in 2007.

The video campaign is mod-eled after the Not In Our Towndocumentary series created bythe grassroots organization TheWorking Group, which aimed to initiate dialogue and imple-ment strategies for dealing withbigotry and intolerance. In earlyDecember, Not In Our Townscreened on campus. According to John Adkins,

head of public services at thePardee Legal Research Centerand PABID member, the eventmarked the start of a mobiliza-

FACES IN THE MIRRORUSD initiates campaign focused on inclusion and diversity

[ m u l t i p l i c i t y ]

by Nathan Dinsdale

53431U_06_17:46416USD_6_17 1/27/09 8:35 PM Page 6

Pulido says the first step is hav-ing the resolve to openly confrontissues of inequality that exist atUSD. PABID was formed, in part, asa response to increasing concernsover intolerance on campus. But itwas a student demonstration(dubbed “Wake Up!”) that becamethe impetus for PABID takingimmediate action.“The work of the students was

very important in calling atten-tion to these issues,” Pulido says.“Through their remarks and recom-mendations, they gave us some-thing to really sink our teeth into.”

The effort was propelled evenfurther when USD President MaryE. Lyons delivered a convocationto open the 2008-09 school yearthat called for “more congruitybetween what we say and whatwe do” regarding inequities thatexist on campus.“If we are honest, we must

admit some imperfection,” Lyonssaid. “If we are committed to themission and values that we pro-claim as a university, then wealso must be honest about ourresolve to live these on our cam-pus more perfectly.” Members of PABID are currently

working on a multi-year strategicplan — covering everything fromcurriculum and hiring practicesto the recruitment and retentionof students, faculty and staff —that will be presented to Lyons this spring. In the meantime, theconversation, and the process,has just begun. “The whole thing is about

having a critical mass of peopleon campus devoted to this issue,”Adkins says. “It’s not going tohappen like a bolt of lightning.Change is slow and incrementaland it isn’t easy, but I think this is a big first step.”

7SPRING 2009

tion effort that will lead into theofficial launch of the OOC cam-paign in February. “This is probably the most

important thing I’ve ever done onthis campus,” Adkins says. “It isn’tabout paying lip service to diversi-ty; it’s about taking real action tochange the campus culture.”Those efforts include the video

vignettes and an online newsletteras well as a series of workshops,group exercises and events cen-tered around diversity on campus. “We have to begin the conver-

sation on this campus, and thetruth is it hasn’t really happenedyet,” says Alberto Pulido, PABIDco-chair and director of theEthnic Studies Program. “It’s notrocket science; it’s simply a mat-ter of having frank and open dis-cussions within the community.”

TIM

MANTOANI

Sister Maria Pascuzzi digs the Bible — literally. She spent a year in Jerusalem,as a part of her studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, where shelearned from some of Israel’s best archaeologists, traveling to famed biblicalsites such as the Sea of Galilee, Masada and Samaria to study and examineartifacts. The only woman in her class, Pascuzzi — a Roman Catholic nun andthe new director of the Center for Catholic Thought and Culture — is a pioneer and fierce advocate of social justice and equality.

“ON WOMEN IN A MAN’S WORLD It really wasn’t untilabout the year 1960 that people who were not priests actu-

ally were able to study theology and religious studies. The study oftheology in scripture was the elite reserve of men who were studyingto be priests. Rome was one of the slowest places to integrate womeninto the programs; school there was set up for priests.

ON CHANGING THE CHURCH Socially and culturally, there are stillproblems in terms of the role of women in ordained ministry. In somecountries, like the U.S., people think it’s a no-brainer that womenshould be ordained to the priesthood, but in certain other countriesaround the world where women are still in more restricted positions,it’s not a big conversation starter.

ON JESUS AND JUSTICE By encouraging people to read the text more critically, you challenge them to understand that this is not about plas-tic, blonde Jesus, that this is about a man who lived in a culture with injus-tices and that he sought to do something about those injustices. This was aman who had a vision for a just society, which was truly an alternative to thedominant secular society. And he wanted those who followed him to becommitted to that justice. You can’t really be Catholic by just going to churchon Sunday. We have an obligation to actively pursue justice, as Jesus did.

ON INSTILLING CATHOLIC VALUES The influence that is brought tobear on students that makes them choose different ways of living is notthe work of one teacher or one department; it’s the whole atmosphere ofthe University of San Diego. We are a school in the top 10 percent ofschools whose students perform service, either in the university or off in[other] programs. It’s the ethos that’s created at the university by faculty,staff and students, by everybody who works here and believes that oneperson who’s educated and has a good grounding in justice can make adifference in the world. It’s the whole mission of the university: to go outand transform the world, to make it a better place.

[AS TOLD TO STEFANIE WRAY]

N EVER SAY NEVERENVISIONING A JUST SOCIETY

[ t r a n s f o r m a t i v e ]

”

AQ&

CHANGING THE CAMPUS

culture is the goal of PABID

co-chairs Steve Pultz and

Alberto Pulido, as well as

community members like John

Adkins (as shown left to right).

53431U_06_17:46416USD_6_17 1/27/09 8:35 PM Page 7

Investigating massacres, rapes,kidnappings, torture and otherhorrors, Sharp often placed himself at great personal risk. Conducting interviews with

victims in modest hotel rooms, heworked below the radar of gov-ernment, military and local insur-gents, and used these interviewsto write reports about violenceinvolving hundreds or thousandsof citizens in places like Guinea

USD MAGAZINE8

human rights law, the Bushadministration used “tricks oflanguage and sleights of hand”to follow its own course. “Theydidn’t fool anyone, most of all us,” Sharp says. “It was a difficult time to be there.” When he began working for

Human Rights Watch in early2006, Sharp left the formal gov-ernment life and plunged straightinto the bloody heart of violence.

Wall Street came callingafter Dustin Sharpearned his law degree

from Harvard in 2002. Whenyou’re $90,000 in debt for youreducation, an astronomicalentry-level salary is tempting. ButSharp had already worked inWashington, D.C. and Paris for afinancial firm the year before,and he knew what that paycheckwould truly cost.While living the “luxe” life was

“a lovely experience,” it simplywasn’t his style. The bicycle henow rides to work rests againstone wall of his small office atUSD’s Joan B. Kroc Institute forPeace & Justice; he joined theinstitute last September. Sharpwears a white shirt, comfortablechinos and black oxfords. “I looked around and thought

about who I wanted to look likein 20 or 30 years,” he says. Theresult of that reflection was toturn his back on what somewould perceive as the good life. So, instead of building a career

around conspicuous consump-tion — during those Wall Streetdays, he enjoyed upscale restau-rants, four-star hotels and finewine — Sharp decided to use his law degree to stand up forvictims of atrocities in regionsaround the world.On the way to USD, he gained

firsthand knowledge of interna-tional crimes and injustices: withthe Peace Corps from 1996 to1998, as a U.S. State Departmentofficial from 2003 to 2005, and as

BECOMING THE SOLUTIONThe IPJ’s Dustin Sharp is invested in shining a bright light on human rights

[ a c t i v i s t ]

an investigator with Human RightsWatch from 2006 to 2008.As one of dozens of State

Department attorneys pushingfor rigorous respect for theUnited States’ international legalobligations, Sharp was frustratedwhen these obligations were attimes ignored by others withinthe administration. While he andhis peers advocated for policyconsistent with international

AROUND THE PARK

TIM

MANTOANI

by Dirk Sutro

53431U_06_17:46416USD_6_17 1/27/09 8:35 PM Page 8

and Côte d’Ivoire. His reports recommended how such abusescan be prevented through gov-ernment reform, vigilance andprosecution of perpetrators.In 2007 in Guinea, government

forces brutalized peaceful demon-strators, who were raped, assault-ed, and murdered under thewatch of President LansanaConté’s corrupt administration.Meanwhile, presidential croniesaccused of crimes such as embez-zling from the Central Bank werereleased from prison.Sharp’s 64-page report for

Human Rights Watch detailedmany abuses and recommendedremedies. In 2007 the govern-ment created a new, independ-ent panel to investigate thesecrimes and prosecute thoseresponsible. The report alsocalled on the United Nations forassistance, and the U.N. took preliminary steps to enforcehuman rights in Guinea. In his new post at USD,

he’ll remain active in humanrights, but with less travel towork in dangerous locales. Sharp says his position allowshim to split his time betweenteaching human rights to gradu-ate students and developing and managing social justice programs in West Africa.“The tricky thing in interna-

tional relations is that jobs arefew and far between on the West Coast,” Sharp says. “I waslucky to land at USD. I grew up in Colorado and Utah and havenever lived in California. I’vealways been a big outdoors per-son, and I spend every weekendin back country areas like MountLaguna on my mountain bike. I also hope to take up a watersport — probably sea kayaking.”Once he gets out past the

breakers, say exploring the cavesnear La Jolla Cove on a sunny,summer day, Sharp can drift inserene waters, for a brief time farremoved from the turbulentregions where he’ll continue topush for peace and justice.

9SPRING 2009

SECRET GARDENSStudent a r t i s t s ge t together to co l laborate, c r i t i que and showcase one ano the r ’s wo rk

by Stefanie Wray

[ u n d e r g r o u n d ]

for promoting recycling andopposing censorship, the group isdedicated to overturning what itconsiders unjust intellectualproperty laws. USD’s chapter ofthis national organization wasfounded two years ago by seniorSam Woolley: “What free cultureis about is art being free andopen to everyone, as opposed to being commodified. Art forart’s sake.” The undergraduates who

make up the Writers’ Club aredevoted to collaboration; theyrely upon their peers’ critiquesand guidance to strengthen theirskills and grow in their craft.Though the university offers theprestigious Cropper CreativeWriting Series with guest lecturesand workshops, the informal, all-inclusive environment of the

Ahealthy dose of rebellionhas blossomed amongstudent artists on campus

in the past few years. Three dis-tinct groups epitomize this artis-tic mini-movement, encompass-ing various genres, defying labelsand encouraging the develop-ment of questioning minds. Emerging from the underbelly

of Camino Hall, an undergraduategroup calling themselves TheBasement Society is showcasingoriginal paintings, photographyand sculptures, often withoutprofessorial oversight. Their workis strongly affected by socialinjustices, tending to employ aheavy dose of irony in wry piecessuch as a Louis Vuitton purse ona pedestal in front of Aromas. Arecent meeting with controversialTijuana artist Marcos “Erre”Ramirez —well known for histrenchant observations of borderculture — provided someprovocative influence on theirartistic points of view. The Basement Society strives

to “open doors for students, chal-lenge their views and motivate[one another].” Group founder andvisual arts major Tatiana Ortiz-Rubio ‘09 explains their raisond’être: “The continual showing ofour work is not only essential forour artistic education, but also forthe education of the community.”Back above ground, Students

For Free Culture are challengingthe university to hold itself to thehighest standards of integrity.Members strive to educate stu-dents, faculty and administrationwith collaborative shows thatincorporate visual arts, live andrecorded music, creative writingand film. In addition to a passion

Writers’ Club fills a niche by inspir-ing and encouraging students’creative expression through poetry,short stories, novels, flash fiction,diary entries and other free-flow-ing literary ventures. “As a freshman I was totally

bewildered,” recalls junior JosephCarothers. “I felt like there wasnothing here for people who justenjoy writing. When looking forart, I had to go down to a secretdoor under the castle. That’s oneof the reasons I wanted to getthe Writers’ Club going.”As clubs like these emerge

from the underground, there’s agrowing awareness among students that they are surround-ed by an outpouring of artistictalent, and are part of a culturedevoted to the joys of creatingcollaborative artwork.

AMANDA THOMAS A

ND KYLE W

ITHYCOMBE

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daughter, Jillian, might benefit too.“We take great pride in making

sure the equipment works. I takethat seriously because that’s howI want my department to workwhen my daughter gets here,should she get here. I don’t wanther education to be lost for aday,” Ybarra says. “I don’t wantany student’s education to belost for a day.”

He still freelances after hours,and in fact, has begun directinglive broadcasts of local sportingevents and has written nine fea-ture-length scripts that he’sshopping around. But his mainpriority is supplying the mediaequipment USD professors needto help deliver their lectures. Heknows the students benefit andhopes that one day his own

When Ed Ybarra hits theroad, he’s almostalways packing a back-

stage pass. Over the years, he’shigh-fived former PresidentGeorge H.W. Bush at a businessconference, spent time in prisonwith Larry King and shot thebreeze with O.J. Simpson at theSuper Bowl.As a freelance camera operator

for more than two decades, hiswork has taken him around theworld and behind the scenes atmemorable events ranging fromtalk shows to commercial produc-tions to game shows. His prisonstint with King, for example, wasjust long enough to record aninterview with Leslie Van Houten,a member of the notoriousCharles Manson family. The bulk of Ybarra’s freelance

camera work has centered on live sporting events. He coveredbasketball and football for many years — including four Super Bowls and the World BasketballChampionships in Paris — and thePadres for 22 seasons to date. Theschedule can be intense; he’s cov-ered up to 140 games in a baseballseason. On the road, he wouldsometimes lose his bearings, partic-ularly during basketball playoffs.“We would get up in the dark,

catch a plane, do a game at night,go to bed, get up the next morningand catch another flight,” he says.“After three or four cities, we wouldlook at each other and say, ‘Do weknow what city we are in? Has any-one seen daylight?’ That was both

10 USD MAGAZINE

[ m u l t i t a s k e r ]

fun and one of the reasons it wastime to get off the road.”Now in charge of the circulation

desk in USD’s Instructional MediaServices department, Ybarra, who’sbeen with the university for eightyears, oversees the inventory ofclassroom media equipment,troubleshoots problems in theclassroom and helps with videoproduction of USD events.

AROUND THE PARK

QUIET ON THE SET!Camera operator turned media services manager has seen it al lby Trisha J. Ratledge

TIM

MANTOANI

Gett ing a l l -access passes was

just par t of a day ’s work for Ed

Ybarra during his years as a

freelance camera operator. Now

in charge of USD’s Instruc t ional

Media Services depar tment,

Ybarra ( lef t ) s t i l l f inds t ime to

direc t off - campus l ive broad-

casts and shop around scr ipts.

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SPRING 2009 11

This year marks not just the60th anniversary of USD, but the 50th anniversary of TheImmaculata, which was conse-crated by Bishop Charles FrancisBuddy in May of 1959. Originallydesigned to serve as the mainchapel of USD and the Immac-ulate Heart Seminary, today it isa separate parish encompassingAlcalá Park and the surroundingcommunity. A variety of activitiesare planned to commemoratethis milestone. For details, go towww.theimmaculata.org.

Helping others was a big partof Danny Burkett’s life. While atUSD, the 2006 graduate helpedestablish the Bleed PurpleFoundation to help college students with cancer and servedas co-chair of Philanthropy Week,an annual event put on by theGreek community to raisemoney for charity. In memory of Burkett — who died soonafter graduation in a tragic boating accident — the Daniel L.Burkett III Memorial Scholarshipwas established to perpetuateDanny’s memory and legacy. This fall, the inaugural DannyBurkett Memorial Golf Tourn-ament attracted more than 70participants who raised morethan $7,000 to benefit what willbecome an annual, perpetualscholarship. To learn more, go to www.sandiego.edu/giving.

Alumni Honors Recipientsfor 2009 will be recognized fortheir notable achievements.L. Douglas Robert ’74 (’94 M.A.)has been chosen to receive theMother Rosalie Clifton Hill Award.Sandy M. Cassell Farrell ’61 willbe awarded the Bishop CharlesFrancis Buddy Award. The Chetand Marguerite Pagni Hall ofFame Award goes to ZuzanaLesenarova ‘00. Author E. Hughes

[ e tc . ] Career Achievement Honoreesare as follows: Richard M. Bartell’75 (J.D.) for the School of Law,Denise M. Boren ’01 (Ph.D.) fromthe Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, John M.Cappetta ’83 from the School ofBusiness Administration, JudyAnn Nassali Kamanyi ’03 (M.A.)from the Joan B. Kroc School ofPeace Studies, Leona Makokis ’01(Ed.D.) and Patricia Makosis ’00(Ed.D.) from the School ofLeadership and EducationSciences, and Heather Raffo ’98(MFA) from the College of Artsand Sciences.

USD’s Honor Roll of Donorsis exclusively online this year, aspart of the university’s “be blue,go green” efforts. The universitydepends on gifts from alumni,parents, friends, faculty, staff,businesses and foundations toensure the highest levels of aca-demic success for our studentsand graduates. To view theonline publication, go towww.sandiego.edu/honorroll.

The Inamori Foundationannounced the 24th annualKyoto Prizes in November. The2008 lifetime achievementawards were given to the honorees for making “dramaticprogress in areas promisinglong-term benefits to humanity.”The laureate in advanced technology is computer scientistRichard Manning Karp; molecularbiologist Anthony James Pawsonreceived the basic sciences laureate; arts and philosophy laureate Charles Margrave Taylorhas developed a “social philoso-phy to promote the co-existenceof diverse cultures.” The laureateswill convene in San Diego fromMarch 18-20, 2009 to participatein North America’s eighth annualKyoto Laureate Symposium,which will included lectures byeach of the honorees; Taylor will speak at USD on March 20.For more information, go towww.kyotoprize.org.

[Nov. 20, 2008]

Dear Friends:

I don’t know the proper way to start this letter,

so I addressed it to “friends.” Many years ago, I was

in the Air Force, stationed at Victorville, Calif. —

1949, to be exact. I went to St. Mary’s Church in

Victorville. Those were some of the happiest days

of my life. I am now nearly 89 years old.

I made a pledge to give $100 in monthly install-

ments to the University Foundation Fund, which

was just starting up. Some months later, I was trans-

ferred to Alaska, and that was one of the most

unhappy times of my life. The cost of everything was

much more than in the States, and coupled with my

mental distress, I stopped making my payments.

When I returned to the States. I wound up with

a low paying job, and also I lost the address of the

foundation. Some years later I found it again, but

I just plain procrastinated resuming payments.

I am enclosing a check for the balance that I

owed of $65. Also, I am enclosing the original let-

ter and papers, in case you might be interested

and want them for your archives or museum.

Sincerely yours,

Arthur W. Rash

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USD MAGAZINE12

TORERO ATHLETICS

by Nathan Dinsdale

Alook of uncertainty creepsover University of SanFrancisco forward Nnenna

Okereke’s face as she crouchesinto position for the opening tip-off. The source of her apprehen-sion could be pre-game nerves.But it’s probably Amber Sprague.Okereke is ostensibly about to

contest USD’s senior All-WCC center for the game’s openingjump ball. But as the 5-foot-10Okereke stares warily over — or,rather, up — at the 6-foot-5Sprague, futility is etched in her“here-goes-nothing” expression. A whistle blows and the ball is

sent aloft. Sprague wins the tipeasily. Seconds later, she receives abounce-pass from USD forwardKiva Herman, spins and deftly hitsa bank shot while being mauledby a helpless defender. “Let’s go!”Sprague shouts, exhorting herteammates with fists clenched. This is USD’s first conference

game of the season, but — judg-ing by Sprague’s fiery display andthe raucous cheer it elicits fromthe USD bench — it could just aswell be the NCAA Tournament.That’s because the Toreros wantnothing more than another waltzat the “Big Dance.” “In the off-season we really

made that our focus,” Spraguesays. “We’ve been trying to upour level of play so that we cannot only get back to the tourna-ment but get there and win.”Last season, USD shocked

Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament

BELLES OF THE BALLU S D w o m e n ’s b a s k e t b a l l l o o k s t o r e t u r n t o t h e B i g D a n c e

[ t e a m w o r k ]

final to earn its first trip to theNCAA Tournament in eight years(the team finished 19-13 afterbeing dropped in the first roundby the University of California,Berkeley). Four starters return thisyear, but it’s the one that got away— graduated All-WCC point guardAmanda Rego — that causedsome early growing pains. Bigwins (San Diego State, Seton Hall)were offset by tough losses (CalPoly, UC Irvine) before the teamwon the Maggie Dixon Surf ‘NSlam Classic to build momentumgoing into WCC play. “At the beginning of the season

we were still trying to find our way,”Sprague says. “But now that we’regetting into conference, I thinkwe’re playing great basketball.”That effort has been spurred in

part by the quick ascension of Rego’sreplacement, freshman point guardDominique Conners. Where theunflappable Rego worked to steadilymanage a game, Conners’ tendencyis to escalate the pace. Against SanFrancisco, the freshman spark plugskidded across the floor, dove intothe scorer’s table and jumped overthe press row in pursuit of loose ballswhen she wasn’t slicing and dicingher way to 18 points. “Dominique has had to grow up

pretty fast as a freshman, and Ithink she’s really done a great job,”Herman says. While Conners provides ample

electricity, seniors Sprague andHerman give USD opponents apotent double dose of thunder

and lightning. Sprague is on trackto become USD’s all-time leadingscorer, and Herman has devel-oped into a versatile star that pro-vides a potent inside/outsidecounterpunch to Sprague’s domi-nance around the basket. WhileHerman humbly insists she stillhas a lot to learn, USD headcoach Cindy Fisher says bothHerman and Sprague are garner-ing attention from WNBA scouts.For their part, both stars insistthat the team’s supporting cast

— including Conners, freshmanMorgan Woodrow, senior KailaMangrum, and sophomoresEmily Hatch and Sam Child —are the real key to success.“Everybody on this team is valu-

able,” Sprague says. “We need every-one to get where we want to be.”Four years ago, USD finished a

mediocre 9-21 in Fisher’s first sea-son at the helm. The coach creditsthe resurgence to chemistry, dedi-cation and above all else, discipline.“Discipline in the classroom, dis-

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SPRING 2009 13

cipline in their lives and disciplineon the court,” Fisher says. “Thesegirls know what it takes to win andthey know they can’t take a day offif they’re going to be successful.”The team hasn’t had many

off-days this season (at press time,their overall record stood at 12-6)but the Toreros won’t be satisfieduntil they return to the NCAATournament in March. “We know what it takes to get

there,” Herman says. “We have towork even harder to do it again.”

PHOTO OF KIVA HERMAN BY BROCK SCOTT

he’s granted an NCAA medicalredshirt year, he’ll play as a fifth-year senior next season and willtake courses for a business minor.For now, he plans to spend

more quality time with his 20-month-old son, Brandon RyanJohnson, who lives in Houstonwith the toddler’s mother, BrittanyHarrison, a junior at TexasSouthern University. School andbasketball commitments havelimited him to only a few extend-ed visits. “It’s been really hardthinking about him being back athome. I’m only able to see himtwice a year, but when I do gohome, he still calls me ‘Daddy.’”Johnson says basketball has

helped him bond with his child,especially last year when USD

Brandon Johnson was sim-ply doing what’s expectedof a leader on a basketball

court. He leaped in the air to tipaway a lobbed pass, exhibiting hisusual quickness and athleticism. Although he still lunged for

the loose ball, Johnson felt asensation “like someone kickedme.” The USD point guard triedto get up, but just as quickly fellto the court. He tried oncemore, but fell again. “I knew itwas bad.”In an instant, what was sup-

posed to be his senior seasonwas over. His teammates grewsilent as they watched him rollon the floor in agony just beforehalftime during the Decembergame against San Diego State.He’d ruptured an Achilles’ tendonin his left heel. Now, the 2008 West Coast

Conference Tournament MVP willbe out of commission whileundergoing what’s certain to bea long rehabilitation. Johnson has appeared in 105

of 106 possible USD games, lead-ing last year’s team to the secondround of the NCAA Tournament.The injury is a heartbreaker, butJohnson is facing this new realitywith maturity. “It’s my first major injury, my

first surgery,” he says, referring toa medical procedure he under-went two days after that sicken-ing on-court moment. “I don’twant anyone to pity me, there’splenty of other people goingthrough a tougher time than Iam. I’m trying to keep it positive.I have faith in God. I don’t want apity party.”The injury has impacted the 22-

year-old’s plans, both on- and off-court. Johnson was to complete asociology degree in May, but if

[ d e d i c a t i o n ]

STANDING STRONGInjury won’t deter Johnson from his goals on and off the court

by Ryan T. Blystone

TOM KOVTAN

played nationally televisedgames. “When I make a shot, Itouch my shoulder. It’s to makesure he knows it’s for him,” hesays, glancing at the letters “BJ”and numbers “05-1-07” tattooedon his right shoulder. “I dedicateeverything I do to him.”If there is a bright side to the

injury, it’s that it refocusesJohnson’s attention on his educa-tion, helping him to realize anewthat even when his ball-playingdays are over, his degree fromUSD will always be there. “Everyone’s proud back home

that I’m going to graduate. Theylook at me as a role model,” hesays. “It’s been a long road, but formy son, I want him to know it’s abig accomplishment, too.”

53431U_06_17:46416USD_6_17 1/27/09 8:35 PM Page 13

USD MAGAZINE14

Moores Center’s Residential RealEstate Conference.Working together suits these

alumni quite well. Wakemanand Aloe were college room-mates, fraternity brothers andhave been longtime businesspartners. “Ed and I started form-ing limited liability companiesand limited partnerships 10 or12 years ago,” Wakeman says.

TIM MANTOANI

Despite the uncertainfinancial climate, EdwardAloe, Mark Mozilo and

Pat Wakeman are moving fullspeed ahead. Armed with knowl-edge, experience and a knack forbeing ahead of the curve, the trioof 1986 USD alumni have pooledtheir talents to form California Capital Real Estate Advisors (CALCAP), which has two maincomponents: private lending andreal estate investing.“The business we’re in is very

cyclical. It seems every eight to 10 years, there are major swingsin our marketplace, but nothinglike we’re seeing today,” saysAloe. “This is not a normal cycle,it’s a crisis. But we think that withour direction and what we’redoing, we’re in a very good spot.” What makes CALCAP different?

“We’re in the market, we’re look-ing to buy and we’re writingoffers,” says Wakeman, who ownsSan Diego-based LandmarkRealty Group. “I’d say 95 percentof property owners are on thesidelines right now.”While Wakeman and another

USD grad, Sam Thomas ’06,search for potential acquisitions,Aloe and Mozilo are launching aprivate lending business fromtheir Pasadena-based office.“There’s a huge void in regularsingle-family lending and theability for good borrowers toget loans,” Aloe says. “We’rerolling out a private moneylending company that’s basical-ly going to be a no-income, verified asset-type loan for

good, credit-worthy borrowers.”Their business plan is still in its

infancy, but as they developed it,they made sure to do their home-work. Among those they spoke towas Mark Riedy, executive directorof USD’s Burnham-Moores Centerfor Real Estate. “USD has a great business repu-

tation and a really good networkof people who are doing great

stuff,” Wakeman says. “When Edand I were forming CALCAP, wetook Mark to lunch, sat down withhim and talked. We shared ouridea with him and he gave ussome suggestions.”The three continue to utilize

their USD connection for ways toenhance their business. In earlyDecember, Aloe, Wakeman andMozilo attended the Burnham-

[ e n t r e p r e n e u r i a l ]

A LU M N I U P DAT EFrom lef t to r ight, 1986 grad-

uates Ed Aloe, Pat Wakeman

and Mark Mozi lo have combined

their exper t ise. Find fur ther

detai ls about their company at

www.calcapadvisors.com.

THREE’S COMPANYT o u g h e c o n o m y t r a n s l a t e s t o b u s i n e s s o p p o r t u n i t yby Ryan T. Blystone

53431U_06_17:46416USD_6_17 1/29/09 6:32 PM Page 14

Mozilo, the son of formerCountrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo,grew up in the mortgage busi-ness. “I learned it from the groundup, working every summer andevery winter break. I understoodit and that gave me a head starton a lot of people.” He’s investedin deals done by Aloe andWakeman and, along with Aloe,worked at IndyMac Bank. Aloe leftIndyMac before the FDIC took itover in July 2008, looking to shiftback to his true calling. “I alwaysknew my second career would bemy own real estate investmentcompany. It was always in theback of my mind.”Aloe credits a summer intern-

ship he found on a 3x5 card inSerra Hall his junior year for hisinitial break. He worked at a smallreal estate investment firm thatbought apartment buildings. “I look back on it as a great learn-ing curve,” Aloe says. “When Igraduated, it became my full-timejob. When my other friends werestressing and trying to get hired, I already had a job.”Mozilo worked at Countrywide

after graduation, but started asmall mortgage company beforespending more than a decade atIndyMac. Now, CALCAP fulfills thegroup’s determination to succeed.“If you look at our model, it’s per-fect for what’s going on with theindustry,” Mozilo says. “We’re 90percent ahead of everyone elseon the other side of the business.”Most important, though, is

being a dependable business ina time of uncertainty. “We havea ton of integrity, we’re all veryhonest,” Aloe says. “We’re goingto be smart, do our homeworkand make good deals. Any investor who invests with us cancome see what we’re doing andlook at our books. We’re totallycomfortable with that becausewe’re going to be investors inour own deals along with any of our partners. We’re puttingour money at risk and that’s an important piece of whatwe’re all about.”

S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 1 5

O’Connell wanted to host hisown alumni event. A charity artauction at his art gallery, TheArchitrouve, took place inOctober. Nearly 60 people,including 40 alumni, attendedand bid on artwork donated bylocal artists.“He came up with the event

and it was wonderful,” Partynskisays. It was such a hit thatO’Connell’s gallery is bookedagain for an alumni event on Oct. 29, 2009.Auction proceeds went to

USD’s Kyle O’Connell MemorialScholarship, which made thenight resonate on a deeply per-sonal level. Kyle — Bob’s nephewand the son of Michael ’87 andJulie ’88 (Belfiore) O’Connell —passed away at age 9 from braincancer. After that tragic loss, ascholarship was established inhis name; it goes to a graduatestudent or undergraduate junioror senior studying in a healingarts discipline. “It’s just part of giving back,”

O’Connell says. “I not only went toschool at USD, but this is a legacyscholarship. I feel good contribut-ing money in hopes of coming upwith a cure for cancer.”

RAY PRIDE

TIM MANTOANI

BACK IN THE FOLDC h i c a g o a l u m n i g a t h e r f o r a g o o d c a u s e by Ryan T. Blystone

[ r e s o n a n c e ]

For most of his post-collegelife, Bob O’Connell’s rela-tionship with USD has

been a fond, but distant, memo-ry. “When I was in school, therewere 1,500 students. I was on the crew team, in student gov-ernment, campus ministry andwas a resident adviser,” O’Connell’82 says. “But when I movedaway, I didn’t really have muchcontact — except for my USDrowing buddies.”One of six family members to

attend the university, the 48-year-old O’Connell leads avibrant life in Chicago with wifeDarci. Though an entrepreneurialpassion for art and other busi-ness ventures keeps him busy,last March, the men’s basketballteam’s NCAA Tournamentappearance brought USD back tothe forefront of his mind whenhe attended a Chicago-basedalumni TV viewing party for theUSD-Connecticut game.Chicago alumni president

Maureen Partynski ’82 was happyto reconnect with O’Connell atthe event, as they were amongthe same circle of friends at USD.The interaction with his almamater was so much fun that

The USD Alumni Associationhas set a $1 million goal for itsscholarship endowments by 2012to support current USD studentswith financial need. The endow-ments recently surpassed$380,000, with a significant por-tion raised through the AlumniEndowed Scholarship Fund. “Iappreciate the generosity of alumni who contributed to thescholarship,” says Bess Culp, currentUSD sophomore and scholarshiprecipient. More than 90 percent ofthe endowment is made up ofannual alumni gifts ranging from$50 to $250. “ The AlumniEndowed Scholarship Fund is aprogram that all USD alumni cantake pride in,” says Mark Hoekstra’86. “When alumni tell me their$50 won’t make a difference atUSD, I point them to our scholar-ship fund. Collectively, thousandsof individual $50 gifts will enableus to reach our $1 million goal.”Go to www. sandiego.edu/givingor call (619) 260-4724.

The School of BusinessAdministration was awarded a $100,000 grant from theFoundation for EnterpriseDevelopment, according to anannouncement that was made in late November. The money will be used over a 17-month period to study private, employee-owned firms. The La Jolla-basedFoundation for EnterpriseDevelopment is a private foundation that seeks to promoteentrepreneurial scientific andtechnology enterprises by fundingresearch, education and policydevelopment projects.

Alumni and friends are invitedto attend the first annual USDWine Classic on July 26 to raisemoney and awareness of theAlumni Endowed ScholarshipFund. Enjoy a wonderful after-noon of wines, food and musicfeaturing USD family wineries. For more information, call (619) 260-4819.

GIFTSA T W O R K

53431U_06_17:46416USD_6_17 1/29/09 6:36 PM Page 15

USD MAGAZINE16

It was just another Thursdayafternoon in my dreary life. My day job was with a firm

that specialized in real estate, andI hated getting up in the morning.There wasn’t anything in particu-lar wrong with the work, but thethought of spending the next 30 years in a job I cared so littleabout filled me with dread. Whenthe phone rang in my law office, I had no idea that I was about tohave a conversation that wouldchange my life. It was Larry Kessenick. Two years

earlier, in 1979, we’d started agroup for lawyers and law studentsinterested in animal rights. Eachmonth we’d meet in the cramped,flea-infested office of the Fund forAnimals in San Francisco to teachourselves about legal issues relat-ed to animals. I cared deeply abouttheir suffering: the 200 millionhunted every year for sport, thebillions raised and killed for food,the 20 million used in research andtesting, the eight million killed bythe fur industry, the five milliondogs and cats who died in sheltersand pounds each year. I wished Icould spend all of my time han-dling lawsuits that would affordthem greater protections. In fact,while a law student at USD, I hadwritten a law review article inwhich I argued that animals shouldbe granted legal rights. But when I graduated from

USD in 1977, there was no suchthing as “animal law,” and certain-ly no paying jobs.The call from Larry was about to

change all of that. He had justreceived a plea for help from theAnimal Protection Institute, who’dfielded an anonymous call that theU.S. Navy had shot and killed over600 feral burros at their Naval

Weapons Testing Center in ChinaLake, Calif., and they were planningto shoot another 500 starting onSaturday morning. They wouldkeep shooting on weekends, untilthey killed 5,000 burros.I was incensed; we couldn’t

allow this slaughter to continue.But it meant that I had to file a law-suit in federal court by Friday, thenext day, and convince a judge toissue a temporary restrainingorder. It was 1981; there was noInternet and no online legalresearch. “State of the art” was atypewriter with a bit of memory.I went home to my cozy little apart-ment in San Francisco, fed my dogand two cats, and set up my oldmanual typewriter, the one I hadused in college and law school. Allnight long, I drank coffee and triedto keep my mind clear as I typedthe pleadings that we would needto halt the shootings. Early on Friday morning, I

rushed to the office and corneredthe firm’s most experienced litiga-tor. I was a “baby lawyer” who’dbeen practicing for only threeyears, and I needed advice: Whereshould I file the case and what sortof notice did I have to give theNavy? Within hours, I was on aplane to Fresno, then in front of afederal court judge pleading mycase, praying he would understandthe importance of not shootingthese defenseless animals. TheNavy’s attorneys made their argument. Then, as if in a dream, I heard the judge issue a tempo-rary restraining order telling theNavy to “call off the guns” untilthere could be a hearing to reviewwhether the Navy’s plan violatedfederal environmental law. I had no idea that such orders

are rarely granted. It wasn’t until

years later that I realized that — in my single-minded quest tosave those burros — I’d nevereven considered the possibilitythat I could fail. Two other attor-neys joined me in litigating, nego-tiating and ultimately settling thatlawsuit eight months later. Notone more burro was shot.In truth, when I saved those ani-

mals, I saved myself. It didn’t takelong for me and my employers torealize that my heart wasn’t in realestate. I needed to leave the safetyof the law firm and take the risk ofdoing animal protection legal workfull-time, even though I had no ideahow to make a living doing it. Yes, itwas painful and scary, but it wasalso necessary if I was to becomethe lawyer and the person I wasmeant to be. It’s been 27 years since the

phone call that changed my life. In that time, my group, the AnimalLegal Defense Fund, has saved thelives of all sorts of animals includ-ing dogs, mountain lions, bears,cats, and, of course, burros. Whilewe’re not always successful, we arealways seeking to provide animalswith greater protections. Now,more attorneys are specializing inthe field of animal law, and over100 law schools offer animal lawclasses, including USD. Over the years, I’ve learned

many lessons, but the mostimportant one was to listen close-ly to that inner voice. Oh, andshould that phone call come foryou, drop everything and answer:It just might be your authentic lifeon the other end of the line.

Joyce Tischler is the co-founder and General Counsel of the AnimalLegal Defense Fund. For more information go to www.aldf.org.

RUNNING WILDWhen she got her law degree, Joyce Tischler knew exactly what she loved, she just didn’t expect to make a living doing it POINTOF VIEW

POIN

T O

F V

IEW POIN

T O

F V

IEW POIN

T O

F V

IEW POIN

T O

F V

IEW POIN

T O

F V

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T O

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[ f r e e r a n g e ]

MICHAEL VALDEZ

53431U_06_17:46416USD_6_17 1/27/09 8:35 PM Page 16

MIC

HAEL V

ALDEZ

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S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 1 9

Peter Gabriel is shorter than you’d think. Queen Latifah has a great laugh. Jewel is the

kind of pretty that ties your tongue in knots. Elvis Costello has a very British sense of

decorum. Tracy Chapman is so shy that making direct eye contact with her seems

cruel. Alanis Morissette has incredibly tiny hands. When Sinead O’Connor skips, she

looks about 9 years old. Ice-T does not take pointed criticism gracefully. Billy Corgan

doesn’t seem to like people very much.

Back when I wrote about music for a living, I got to sit down and talk with a lot of

rock stars. It turns out that off-stage, they’re just like the rest of us. (That is, if the rest of

us had an entourage, leather pants, a list of preferred green room snacks and rolled

out of bed around dusk.) And in truth, much to my endless chagrin, I didn’t need to

worry about making friends with the rock stars; they already had more friends than

they knew what to do with.

As much as I loved it — even still I sometimes dream of those all-access backstage

passes, which tended to make me feel as though I was the one in the spotlight — the

rock stars I come across these days are equally, if not more, impressive. We’ve got quite

an array of luminaries around these parts, from globe-hopping consultants to newbie

NFL quarterbacks to championship marathon swimmers. It turns out that the University

of San Diego is a launchpad for rock star caliber success.

While the mind-blowing accomplishments of all of those we’ve featured in this issue

are self-evident, what’s even more startling is that the profiles that follow are really just

a miniscule sampling of USD superstars. So duck behind the curtain and take your own

backstage tour. You’re sure to enjoy the trip. — Julene Snyder

Illustrations by

Alisa Burke

O u r b a c k s t a g e t o u r o f t h e l i v e s o f a d o z e n b o n a f i d e l u m i n a r i e s

53431U_18_31:41432U_26_35.qxd 1/27/09 8:44 PM Page 19

aiting doesn’t come easy

for someone accustomed

to making split-second

decisions in the face of

unrelenting pressure. But

this wasn’t a pack of

bloodthirsty defenders bearing down on Josh

Johnson ’08. It was the future. And, for once, it was

out of his control. So the most prolific quarterback

in USD football history waited, as name after name

was announced on a stage 3,000 miles away at

Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Then the phone rang. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

head coach Jon Gruden was on the line. A few min-

utes later, Johnson was officially an NFL quarterback.

“I didn’t really have any expectations,” Johnson

says. “I just figured I’d play four years of college foot-

ball and then move on to something else.”

On April 27, Johnson was selected in the fifth

round of the 2008 NFL Draft, a path paved by four

phenomenal years at San Diego. Johnson led the

Toreros to three league titles and a 31-4 record in

three years as a starter — throwing a staggering

43 touchdown passes (with only one interception)

his senior season — while racking up numerous

awards along with virtually every major USD passing

record. “Where we came from as freshmen to where

we ended up as seniors is something I’m very proud

of,” Johnson says.

The transition from USD to the NFL has been

fairly smooth, thanks in part to the guidance offered

by his cousin, Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn

Lynch. “He gave me an idea of what the workload

would be like and what sort of distractions could

come up and what to avoid,” Johnson says. “You

don’t really have a lot of time to focus on anything

other than football. In some ways, it’s just like any

other 8-to-5 job.”

On the other hand, it’s not exactly Office Space.

Johnson has spent his rookie season as a backup to

established veterans Jeff Garcia and Brian Griese. And

while it’s been a challenge going from superstar to

understudy, he’s confident that all his preparation and

hard work will pay off when opportunity knocks.

“In this league you see guys come and go so quick-

ly,” Johnson says. “You have to prepare and play every

day like it’s going to be the day. When my opportunity

comes, I’ll be ready.”— Nathan Dinsdale

U S D M AG A Z I N E2 0

hen the call came

that President

Gerald Ford had

canceled plans to speak at

USD’s School of Law 1976

commencement, then-Dean

Don Wechstein didn’t fret. He

just called on Hugh Friedman,

president of the San Diego

County Bar Association.

“He had promised [them] a

president,” Friedman recalls.

And since it was an election year,

he didn’t let Ford off easy: “I am

especially humble to be here in

his place, particularly since there

are so many men in the land

today who are really trying to

take the president’s place.”

Friedman’s been associated

with the law school since he start-

ed teaching night classes in 1958.

He still teaches and writes

corporate, business planning

and securities law. “I never set

out to be a law teacher, “ says

Friedman, who was honored by

USD in October to mark his fifti-

eth year as an educator. “I want-

ed to be a lawyer. I felt law was

society’s best way of resolving

conflicts and controversies of

humankind in a bloodless way.”

— Ryan T. Blystone

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ongtime USD faculty member Denise Dimon

wears many different hats, in many different

countries. As a professor of economics, director of

MBA programs, and a founding member of the School

of Business Administration’s Ahlers Center for

International Business, Dimon teaches and conducts research on interna-

tional business and cross-cultural affairs. But those are just her day jobs.

When she's not on USD business, Dimon co-edits the Latin American

Business Review, serves as the president of the Business Association of

Latin American Studies and works as a consultant to companies in need

of cross-cultural management advice.

It's a dizzying résumé, but Dimon says she’s simply pursuing a long-

time passion. “I love exploring the role that business can play in devel-

oping wealth and creating opportunities that alleviate poverty.”

Dimon’s oft-stamped passport reflects her global pursuits. In just the

past 12 months, the 54-year-old grandmother has traveled to Israel,

India, China, South Korea, Morocco, Spain, Mexico and Colombia. Over

the course of her career, she’s worked, lectured or taught in more than

35 countries on five different continents. Dimon’s recent jaunts to India

and China were in preparation for an emerging-markets consulting

S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 2 1

project for MBA candidates, so USD’s current crop of MBA students

could have similar trajectories.

Like many frequent fliers, she has a traveling ritual that's air-tight.

She does rigorous Internet research on her destination in advance, packs

light, sticks to carry-on luggage, brings an extra bag for souvenirs and

carts along a pair of running shoes for an early-morning jog or stroll.

Her peripatetic nature helps Dimon stay on top of all of her responsi-

bilities. Long flights give the busy professor extended periods of time

to focus on work. Her trusty BlackBerry — and the ubiquity of wireless

— allows her to stay connected.

Although Dimon has rarely made a trip she didn’t like, she nonethe-

less tries to limit travel to once a month in order to spend time with

her family — road warriors in their own right. But with a celebrated

career that’s lasted more than 25 years and has included a Fulbright

and such awards as being named Woman of the Year by the Women

in International Trade organization, Dimon has no plans to slow down,

even if it has gotten harder to shake off jet lag in recent years.

“I’ve had the great opportunity to travel and meet different people,”

Dimon says. “Seeing the world through the eyes of others can’t help but to

expand our own worldview.” — Kemba Dunham

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U S D M AG A Z I N E2 2

endy Lynn Opdycke ‘06 eyed the dark blue water of Lake

Washington first with curiosity, then determination. From

the banks of Mercer Island she could easily see the main-

land neighborhood of Newport Shores across the lake.

The crossing was a few hundred meters. A half-mile, tops.

“I can swim that,” Opdycke told her mother. The precocious 8-year-old

was informed that she’d be grounded if she did. Opdycke was on restric-

tion by the end of the day.

That was 1992. Sixteen years later, she stepped out of the Pacific Ocean

and into history after swimming 21 miles across the Catalina Channel,

officially shattering the record for completing the “Triple Crown” of

marathon swimming. Only one other person — Opdycke’s coach Alan

Voisard—has ever successfully swam the Manhattan Island Marathon, the

English Channel and the Catalina Channel all in less than a year. It took

Voisard three months. Opdycke did it in 34 days.

Her run at the Triple Crown started in Manhattan on July 5, continued

in England on July 27 and culminated with the Catalina swim on Aug. 9.

She swam the cumulative 70.5 miles in 26 hours and 50 minutes (another

record) while becoming the first person to ever complete “The Quad,”

having also conquered the Santa Barbara Channel in 2007.

“After Catalina, I was so out of it I didn’t know who I was at that point,”

Opdycke laughs. “It didn’t really hit me until about a month later that

I actually did this.”

Then again, she has made a lifelong habit out of shrugging off obsta-

cles, be it swimming through a school of jellyfish or earning a master’s

degree despite physical and learning impairments.

“I’m dyslexic, I’m hard of hearing and I don’t have great vision but I’m not

going to be ashamed of it,” Opdycke says. “I have a great mom who has always

helped me with everything. She’s always been my biggest champion.”

Opdycke calls her mother, Rendy Collobert, “my rock” and her sister

Shawna “my cheerleader.” Both are the core of a support team that has

helped Opdycke succeed both in and out of the water. It was Shawna who

cheered Opdycke on as she battled nausea, frigid temperatures and daunt-

ing swells in the English Channel and it was Collobert who read Shakespeare

to her daughter when Opdycke struggled to decipher the words herself.

It’s only fitting that Opdycke’s favorite Shakespearean character is Puck,

the mischievous woodland jester from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, consider-

ing she has an exceedingly dry wit for someone who spends so much time

soaking wet.

“Come on, I swim open-water marathons,” Opdycke quips. “You have to

have an absurd sense of humor to do something like this.”

What fools these mortals be, indeed. But the underwater dangers —

sharks, whales, jellyfish, manatees etc. — Opdycke has encountered don’t

give her pause as much as the above-water challenges, like the menacing

storm (complete with towering 15-foot swells) that cut a relay swim across

the Santa Barbara Channel short.

“You don’t mess with Mother Nature,” Opdycke says. “I challenge her but

I also know when to say when.”

But that doesn’t happen often. Opdycke is the first woman to swim the

Santa Barbara Channel and — in addition to being the record-holder — is

one of only about 25 swimmers to have completed the Triple Crown. And

while she excelled in long-distance events for the USD swim team, her

true love is in open water.

“Just chasing the black line at the bottom of the pool can get a little

old after about, oh, 22 years,” Opdycke laughs. “Open water swimming is

different because there are so many outside variables but I think that’s

probably why I like it.”

In addition to encounters with wildlife, tumultuous environmental

conditions and the complex logistics involved in marathon swimming,

Opdycke completed her record-breaking Catalina swim nearly two years

to the day that her father, an engineer, died while working on a job site.

Refurbishing the Corvette she inherited from him is just one of the ways

Opdycke occupies her time away from the water. She’s also an amateur

photographer and artist, listens to electronic music (Daft Punk in particular)

before swims and is a fervent supporter of the San Diego Chargers. And

if swimming marathons weren’t ambitious enough, Opdycke ran the Los

Angeles Marathon earlier this year.

Her prowess in the water has also allowed her opportunities to engage

her other passions, like ogling Monet’s “Water Lilies” at the Museum of

Modern Art in Manhattan, visiting Shakespeare’s birthplace in England

and strolling through the Louvre in Paris. (“It was like doing another

marathon,” Opdycke jokes.) She reads inspirational books (including biog-

raphies of Albert Einstein and Lance Armstrong) and watches inspirational

movies (Remember The Titans and Miracle are two favorites) but acknowl-

edges that she avoids watching films like, say, Open Water or Jaws.

After graduating from USD with a communications degree, she recently

finished her master’s degree from the University of Southern California

with an eye on working in athletic administration. In the meantime, there

are always other records to break.

“Records are meant to be broken,” Opdycke says. “If somebody breaks

my record, I’ll be happy for them. I’m going to shake their hand and say,

‘Congratulations, you’re crazier than I am.’”

INTO THE SWIMb y N a t h a n D i n s d a l e

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U S D M AG A Z I N E2 4

ack in the 1990s, the phrase “What Would Jesus Do?”

became a popular personal motto in the United States,

a reminder that Jesus was a kind of moral superhero,

able to make the leap from temptation to salvation in a

single bound. But was Jesus a superhero? Did his humanity

differ from that of our own?

In a recently published paper titled “Arius, Superman and the Tertium

Quid: When Popular Culture Meets Christology,” USD theology professor

Susie Paulik Babka contrasts the life of Jesus with that of Superman, the

Marvel Comic Books hero. Babka says she is fascinated by the parallels

that pop up between the son of God and the cape-wearing son of

Jor-El from the planet Krypton.

“Many Christians see Jesus as a kind of ‘superhero’ who ‘comes down’

to earth to save us,” Babka says. “What concerns me as a theologian,

however, is what happens to Jesus when Jesus is understood as a

superhero, someone with ‘magical powers’ who does things it seems

no other human being can do. I argue in the paper that Jesus is not

Superman, that Jesus’ humanity is no different from our humanity.

I argue that Jesus is the meeting point between what is fully divine and

what is authentically human,” she explains. “Jesus is God who has ‘emp-

tied himself’ in order to experience human life, suffering and death, and

to bring humanity fully into the divine life.

“This means that, as authentically human, Jesus cannot be capable

of anything we are not capable of. If he is not God, or not fully God,

then God is no nearer to us than before the incarnation. If he is not

authentically human, then it is not humanity that is brought into union

with God, but ‘superhero-ness.’”

As for Superman, Babka argues that even though he’s faster than a

speeding bullet, “since he’s not human, he can never be what we are.”

— Tiffany Fox

im Bolender knows chemistry. He has two degrees, has taught

at USD since 1996 and, for the last eight years, has applied all

that specialized knowledge in research projects from Baja

California to Jamaica and beyond in collaboration with several

USD colleagues.

“I’ve been places I never dreamed of” he says. “I’ve seen liberal arts

at its fullest and how science fits into the picture.” His own love of

science tends to be infectious; many of his students make the decision

to delve deeper.

“I’ve had four research students go on to get Ph.D.s or they’re in the

process of getting one, which tells me I’m doing the right things in

terms of mentoring them. And, through joint projects with [associate

professor] Michel Boudrias and the environmental work we do, several

more students have gone on to graduate school. These projects are

helping them choose their direction.”

Bolender, the 2007 winner of the prestigious Lowell Davies Award, is

now directing several more of USD’s top students as director of the

Honors Program.

“He’s going to do a phenomenal job developing the undergraduate

research aspect of the program. He has a lot of experience with

research as a chemist and he’s committed to expanding and enhancing

it,” says Noelle Norton, department chair for political science and

Bolender’s predecessor as director.

“I think this is the best place for me to be because I love interacting

with students and I take pride in what they do,” he says. “The honors

program puts in place a structure where these excellent students

can excel and really step outside of the box, see cross-disciplines and

be challenged.” — Ryan T. Blystone

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S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 2 5

epression in expectant and new mothers carries a

stigma all its own. At a time when most women are

overjoyed, some struggle with feelings of melan-

choly. Left untreated, maternal depression can affect

more than a mother’s health; it can put a child’s

development and well-being at risk.

Cynthia Connelly, director of nursing research at USD’s Hahn School

of Nursing and Health Science, is leading a $3.1 million, five-year study

to identify and treat maternal depression. Funded by the National

Institutes of Health, her Perinatal Mental Health Project is the recipient

of the largest single grant in the university’s history.

Estimates of maternal depression in new mothers range from 10 to

42 percent, with most of these women undiagnosed and untreated.

Through an innovative collaboration, the project will screen up to 5,000

women at routine prenatal visits in community clinics throughout San

Diego. Several hundred will likely be identified for follow-up, some with

a mental health adviser who will link them to treatment.

“The various academies — the American Academy of Pediatrics, the

American Academy of Nursing, the American College of Obstetrics and

Gynecologists — all support using screening as a part of the practice,”

says Connelly. “But there are terrible cost constraints and time con-

straints that undermine the best intentions.”

Connelly assembled a multidisciplinary research team to develop a

solution. Early work in the project will lead to a bilingual computerized

screening program that expectant mothers complete in the waiting

room, so that depression care can be incorporated into the visit, if indi-

cated. A key component to this approach is follow-up by a mental

health adviser, who will contact at-risk mothers to offer support, advice

and referral services.

Connelly and her colleagues will also interview mothers by phone and

make in-home visits to gauge changes in depression over time, assess

mother/child interactions and check on baby milestone outcomes.

“Women are supposed to be happy when they’re pregnant, but

sometimes we forget that it’s too much,” she says. “Some mothers

didn’t want a baby at this time, or maybe their husband is out of work.

It’s important [for them] to be able to get this support — just to be

able to acknowledge that they don’t feel great, that it’s OK to feel sad.

Our focus now is on improving access to mental health services for

underserved families, but ultimately I hope that we get better access

for all people.” — Trisha J. Ratledge

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S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 2 7

or some people, success is marked by a clear pinnacle, a

point on the mountaintop where they can stop pushing the

rock uphill and consider the mission accomplished.

Then there are those like Michael Bajo. Even after achieving

success as a professional baseball player, a naval officer and a beloved

physician, he set his focus on the towering peaks in the distance, always

striving to clear the next summit. It's a legacy he left to his 15 children, six

of whom call USD their alma mater. Of those six, four followed in his foot-

steps and went on to pursue medicine.

The son of Slovak immigrants who came to the United States in 1912,

Bajo was born in East Chicago, Indiana in 1919, and graduated with honors

from St. Precopius University (now Benedictine University). A lifelong

sportsman, Bajo starred in basketball and baseball while at St. Precopius,

and was later drafted and signed as a left-handed pitcher by the Chicago

White Sox in 1941. Once he decided his true calling was medicine, he

attended Loyola Medical School in Chicago, graduating with an M.D.

in 1944 at the height of World War II. Bajo became a medical officer for

the destroyer USS Dobbins and cared for wounded soldiers in the Pacific

theater. Following the war, Bajo was stationed in San Diego and pursued

further medical training at Mercy Hospital.

While a resident, he took notice of Sarah, who worked as a nurse in the

surgical ward. It wasn't long before he asked her to go on a "grunion run,"

something she thought was just a silly line to get her to go out with him.

But soon enough, the two were married. In 1948, the couple relocated to

San Ysidro to start a medical practice in that underserved community.

This move established Bajo as one of the most beloved physicians in

the South Bay, caring for patients on both sides of the border, sometimes

accepting payment in the form of chickens or produce. A specialist in

obstetrics, he delivered more than 11,000 babies. When infants were aban-

doned by their mothers, he was known to call his wife and announce he

was bringing home a bundle of joy. (Altogether, the Bajos adopted

four of the children he delivered).

“At the time they moved to San Ysidro, I don't think there were any

other doctors down there,” recalls son Michael Jr. “My dad's home phone

was listed in the phone book, and he used to do a lot of house calls,

especially at night. Sometimes, he'd take us kids on house calls, and he

was always talking about his work. He'd come home from some surgery or

a tough delivery and during dinner — we had this huge blackboard

behind the kitchen table — he'd draw diagrams up on the blackboard.

One thing that I was always really impressed with was his work ethic. l

never once heard him complain about work. He just loved what he did. “

“A deeply spiritual Catholic,” according to USD professor emerita Sister

Pat Shaffer, Bajo sent his children to Catholic grammar schools and Marian

High School (now Mater Dei High). When it came time for them to head

off to college, he encouraged them to attend USD.

Because his own father never had the chance to pursue higher educa-

tion, Bajo always stressed the importance of earning a college degree to

his children.

“He used to say his best investment was his kids,” Michael Jr. says.

“He never pressured us to attend USD specifically, but he had attended a

Catholic university, so it was a tradition kind of thing. But USD wasn't cheap,

even back then. Putting that many kids through college was an amazing feat.”

At one point during the 1970s, four Bajo children were matriculating

at USD: Stephen Bajo ’72 (now a physician in internal medicine), Michael

Bajo Jr. ‘73 (now owner of Bajo Construction), Philip Bajo ’74 (now a cardi-

ologist) and Mary (Bajo) Reardon ’75 (now an OB/GYN). Their father pur-

chased a home near USD for all the children to live in; Michael Jr. considers

those years to be an especially memorable time in his life.

“Some of us had classes together once in a while, which was kind of fun

and made things easier,” he muses. “It was someone to study with. Back

then everybody knew us in the department, but we were individuals. We

had a lot of similar characteristics, but I think we also had a lot of diversity

within our family.”

Retired chemistry professor Jack Opdycke recalls having both Michael

Jr. and Philip in his class. “The thing I can say unequivocally about the

two of them is that they're such quality people," he says. “And that's the

essence of what I heard about the rest of the family. They had quite a

reputation at USD.”

Several of the Bajo kids were known for their abilities in sports: Michael Jr.

played basketball, Stephen played basketball and baseball, Philip played

baseball and their sister, Ruth ’89 (M.Ed. ’91) was on the volleyball team.

Sister Shaffer, who taught five members of the Bajo clan in her biochem-

istry class, remembers seeing the family patriarch at various USD sporting

events throughout the years, most recently at the West Coast Conference

basketball tournament at the Jenny Craig Pavilion in March 2008, when the

Toreros beat Gonzaga to earn an NCAA Tournament berth.

“Even when he was pretty elderly, he was still coming to tournaments,”

Shaffer recalls of the doctor, who passed away in September 2008.

“Although he was a doctor who started out as a sportsman, he remained

devoted to USD as well.”

Adds Michael Jr., “Of all the things he was — a dad, a husband, an

athlete — the main thing was, he was a doctor. That's his legacy.”

FAMILY AFFAIRb y T i f f a n y F o x

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U S D M AG A Z I N E2 8

t’s a simple memento. A rip-cord grip (the kind used to

release a reserve parachute) affixed to a block of wood. But

the keepsake on USD associate professor George Reed’s

office wall is much more than that. It symbolizes the night

that Reed — then a U.S. Army paratrooper performing a

behind-enemy-lines training exercise — managed to walk away from a

catastrophic parachute failure that should have killed him.

“I like to say that I haven’t had a bad day since,” Reed chuckles. “I keep

that up there as a reminder to myself that life is good, and it’s short, so

we have to make the most of it.”

Reed spent 27 years as an Army officer — including six as an instructor

at the prestigious U.S. Army War College — before bringing his expertise

to USD’s School of Leadership and Education Sciences in 2007.

“The transition has actually been pretty easy,” Reed says. “Context

matters when you’re talking about leadership, but the process of lead-

ership extends across many different job sectors and endeavors. It’s not

strictly science. It’s an art and a science.”

Not that there aren’t some welcome differences in the military and

civilian approaches to higher education.

“In the Army, we worked with an insane work ethic,” Reed says.

“There were many competing demands on your time and a lot of that

time was not your own. So to come into a field where discretionary

time is part of the culture, I really relish that opportunity to pursue my

own academic interests and research.”

In addition to teaching leadership and organizational theory, Reed

has used his scholarly freedom to focus particular attention on negative

management styles. “I’m definitely interested in the dark side of leader-

ship,” Reed says. “Truth is, we can learn just as much from bad examples

as we can from the good ones.”

Reed was drawn to USD for its reputation as a groundbreaking aca-

demic leader in leadership studies; he says the research conducted by

SOLES faculty translates to military officers and corporate professionals

as well as it does to school principals and leadership consultants. Still,

he relishes the challenge of adapting leadership principles across a

variety of disciplines.

“One particular leadership style isn’t going to be effective across

all people and situations,” Reed says. “You can take one leadership

approach if you have time to make a decision and the impacts are

long-term. But if you’re in a position where the building’s on fire,

you’re going to need a different approach.” — Nathan Dinsdale

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S P R I N G 2 0 0 9 2 9

oan Kroc had a vision for the institute

that bears her name at USD: that it be a

place that not only talked about peace,

but made peace. The creation of the

internship program in 2002 at the Joan B. Kroc

Institute for Peace & Justice was a firm first step. The

program has flourished ever since, attracting those

students — both locally and internationally — who

have a keen interest in becoming peacemakers.

“The internship program is [former IPJ Director]

Joyce Neu’s brainchild. She loves nurturing the next

generation of leaders,” says IPJ Internship Director

Elena McCollim.

The Fall 2008 class consisted of senior Elisabetta

Colabianchi, Chris Groth ‘06 (M.A.), senior Ali Wolters

and UC San Diego senior Carolyn Smith. Their duties

included working with the Women PeaceMakers

participants, supporting IPJ events and writing

weekly reports on current events in two countries.

Wolters, a political science major, focused on Peru

and Uganda. She’s studied and worked in both

Uganda and Rwanda; her passion stems from seeing

the documentary film Invisible Children. “There was a

guy sitting next to me from Uganda, his eyes welling

up with tears. I became aware of a war I had no clue

about, that had gone on longer than I’d been alive.”

Colabianchi, majoring in Spanish and biology,

speaks four languages and has studied in Italy,

Argentina and Mexico. She tracked Guatemala and

South Africa. “I love being in other countries, seeing

new cultures and learning from them. Studying

abroad gives you a better perspective. There are so

many things that need to change, and this makes

you want to help make that change.”

Groth will finish a yearlong stint as the IPJ’s inau-

gural graduate intern this spring. He’s tracking the

Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nepal.

“When I was doing my master’s, I followed what

the IPJ did in Nepal. It’s exciting to be a part of it

now, even if I’m contributing a small piece. The

country is really transitioning, with elections and

democracy at work.”

Smith covered Columbia and Bangladesh. She

says the IPJ internship whets her appetite for more.

“There’s so much information out there on world

affairs at our fingertips that it’s hard to sit back and

watch what’s going on without trying to do some-

thing to get involved.” — Ryan T. Blystone

nline gathering spots like

RateMyProfessors.com

have some nasty things

to say about many a pedantic

science professor, but Mitch

Malachowski’s profile shines

squeaky clean. He’s head over

heels for organic chemistry —

and all of his students feel

the love.

“I teach my students that I will

do whatever I can to help them

be successful,” he muses. “I think

they’re surprised sometimes to

hear that, but I tell them I make a

commitment to them every day

when I show up. I work really hard

for them and I ask them to make

the same commitment to them-

selves. I think [students] tend to

identify with people who gen-

uinely want them to be success-

ful.” Malachowski wants everyone

in his classes to “become more

than someone who’s reading a

chemistry book.” With his guid-

ance, “They think like chemists.

They personalize their education.”

And they go on to shape and mold,

create and cure. “They become

chemists.” — Stefanie Wray

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U S D M AG A Z I N E3 0

rebrenica was one of the first. It was also one of the hardest. For

days, Kirsten Bowman ‘96 pored over videotape evidence chron-

icling the July 1995 assault on the city — and the subsequent

mass murder of some 8,000 people — during the Bosnian War.

At the time, she was a law clerk working with the International

Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Away from work, she was

reading The Key to my Neighbor’s House, which included eyewitness

accounts of the Srebrenica Massacre. It wasn’t long before the horrors

described in the book came to life in graphic detail on the video screen.

“It was very unpleasant,” Bowman says. “That was a hard week for me.

I had become all-consumed by it and I wasn’t sure if I could do this kind

of work anymore.”

That was 2004. Nearly five years later, Bowman is still helping bring indi-

viduals responsible for some of the world’s most egregious crimes against

humanity to justice as a lawyer for the International Criminal Court.

“It’s easy to get caught up in the emotional evidence of these horrible

things that have happened,” Bowman says. “You want somebody to be

held accountable. But our job is to adjudicate fair trails in a court of law,

so you have to remove yourself from the emotional side in order to do

your job effectively.”

After graduating from USD with a major in sociology and a minor

in gender studies, Bowman became a social worker in San Diego,

then completed a Coro Fellowship in Public Policy in Los Angeles. She

subsequently worked as a lobbyist for international women’s health

rights in Washington, D.C., before earning a law degree from Santa

Clara University. After clerking for the Yugoslavia tribunal, Bowman

worked for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, before

landing her current post as a legal officer at the ICC.

“I knew when I went to USD I wanted to do public work but I don’t

know that I imagined this,” Bowman says. “I pictured myself working on

treaties or conventions to stop Darfur from happening — rather than

prosecuting people that had already committed atrocities in Darfur.

I still struggle with that. But there’s something very tangible about

international criminal law.”

Tangible though it may be, Bowman has learned that many of the

cases she has worked on at the ICC fall in a nebulous gray area where

the concepts of right and wrong are anything but black and white.

“I’m not sure there are always good guys and bad guys,” Bowman says.

“Sometimes it’s just conflict between people, but there are rules of war,

and you have to uphold those rules regardless of what side you’re on.”

Bowman recently assisted in a case against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo,

a militia leader accused of perpetuating human rights violations, including

the murder of United Nations peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic

of Congo. When it became apparent that Dyilo could not receive a fair

trial based on the prosecution’s handling of evidence, Bowman helped

push for a “stay” in the proceedings.

“To get to that decision was very difficult, but it was probably the proud-

est moment of my career, even if a lot of people were critical of it,” she says.

“I felt like it was really important to distinguish the ICC as a criminal court,

not a political court, and if we moved forward with an unfair proceeding

we would be doing a major disservice to international criminal law.”

While currently based in The Hague, Netherlands (home of the ICC),

Bowman frequently spends weeks and months at a time collecting

evidence and interviewing witnesses in the field. Aside from those often

gut-wrenching investigations, one of her biggest challenges is piecing

together universal laws that work for the entire global community.

“Back home, the statutes have already been interpreted and there’s

not much to do but look at past case studies and do it again,” she says.

“It’s fascinating and challenging trying to figure out how we can take

pieces out of all these major systems of law and place them in this new

system that works for everybody.”

Bowman credits the year she spent studying abroad in Japan as a USD

student for sparking her physical and cultural wanderlust, though she does

lament that there’s little use for her Japanese fluency in the wilds of Africa.

“I can get by quite easily in Kiswahili, but French is the bane of my

existence,” she sighs. “French drives me crazy, and it’s the language

that I probably need to use the most.”

Aside from relying on the support of friends and family, Bowman has

learned to cope with the emotional rigors of her job by brushing up on

her Français, exercising, taking cooking classes and beautifying her home.

“My boyfriend thinks that it’s odd that I put so much effort into mak-

ing my house look so nice,” she says with a chuckle. “But sometimes I

need something that’s frivolous and pretty in my life. It’s important to

take care of yourself because you won’t be helpful to people if you’re

burned out and unhappy.”

Despite the often mentally and emotionally taxing nature of her

work, Bowman — who anticipates eventually returning to the United

States — still relishes the challenges her job presents.

“It can be very exhausting. There are times when I just want to go

home and be a corporate lawyer or a public defender and have a nice

little life. But every day I’m fascinated and stimulated by what I’m doing,

and I know I may never have this kind of opportunity again.”

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because it’s normal for them.”Morgan, co-founder Patrick

McNicholas and Urban Compasscommunity outreach coordinatorDeAnthony Langston have facedan uphill battle winning over localresidents accustomed to well-intentioned organizations tuckingtail whenever these mean streetsbare their teeth. “You have to prove to the com-

munity that you won’t leave thefirst time somebody throws a rockthrough your window,” Morgansays. “We sat down with peoplefrom the community and had avery honest conversation. Theywere very skeptical but we werealso very earnest. Gradually we’vebeen able to build that respect.”After more than a decade of

working for nonprofits — whilealso earning a doctorate in publicpolicy from the University ofSouthern California (where heteaches as an adjunct professor)— Morgan has used his expertiseto help build a partnership modelthat Urban Compass hopes toeventually replicate in other citiesand neighborhoods. “The best and the brightest kids

in this neighborhood often becomethe leaders of gangs because that’swhere they can excel the most,”Morgan says. “Many of them areentering gangs by the fourth grade,so if you want to get through tothem you have to engage these kidsin kindergarten or first grade andcreate a path all the way to college.” Morgan has fostered partner-

ships with 112th Street Elementary,St. Michael’s Middle School,Verbum Dei (the Jesuit-run homebase of Urban Compass), localnonprofits and private sectordonors to ensure that path doesn’t have cracks. Morgan —who works for a Pasadena firm

on Morgan ’95 motionsacross the parking lottoward a sprawling cluster

of squat, white buildings justbeyond the tall perimeter fencesurrounding Verbum Dei HighSchool. He doesn’t point, lest thegroup of color-coordinated gangmembers strolling just outside thefence misinterpret the gesture.“That’s Nickerson Gardens,”

Morgan says, nodding towardsthe notorious housing project.“Everything bad you can imaginehappens there. That’s where ourkids live.” The kids he’s referringto are students from nearby 112thStreet Elementary School. Theyparticipate in programs — rang-ing from after-school tutoringand assessment tests to filmmak-ing workshops and field trips —offered by Urban Compass, thenon-profit organization Morganco-founded four years ago toassist youth in the Watts sectionof Los Angeles. “Three years ago, if you asked

most of these kids where theywanted to go to college, they’djust laugh,” Morgan says. “Today, ifyou ask most of our kids wherethey want to go to college, they’lltell you. That’s a huge shift in theirperception of what’s possible.”But that shift hasn’t come easily

in this poverty-stricken and crime-ridden neighborhood, a placewhere local public high schoolsoften have dropout rates that par-allel the graduation rates of theirsuburban counterparts.“It’s just a totally different

reality here,” Morgan says. “Someof these kids sleep on the floorbecause bullets go through thewindow. They’ve all seen deadbodies and other things thatmost of us can’t even imagine.They talk about it very casually

33SPRING 2009

to help nonprofits and schoolsfind executive-level recruits —also is the organization’s primaryfundraiser and teams with hiswife Whitney (née Symington)’99 to coordinate various benefitevents and the annualChristmas party.Morgan says one of the most

critical components to ensuringUrban Compass students stay thecourse is to provide them withmentors and tutors that can relateto the daily struggles of growingup in a hostile environment. Langston is the bedrock exam-

ple: He grew up in NickersonGardens, attended 112th StreetElementary and Verbum Dei. Aftercollege, he played professional bas-ketball overseas before returning toserve his community. “The idea of empathy is ridicu-

lous when, at the end of the day,I’m driving home to Pasadena,”Morgan says. “You and I can comedown here all we want and tellthese kids ‘Trust me, you can go tocollege’ but it’s not the same ashearing it from someone who real-ly knows what these kids gothrough every day.”The focus is not just academic

but cultural, with field trips tomuseums and the beach, experi-ences many of the students havenever had.“The more we can show them

different things, the more it opensup a new world of possibility,”Morgan says. “We’ve had some ofthe toughest gang members inNickerson Gardens come to usand say, ‘I want you to take care ofmy kids so that they have a differ-ent life than me.’ That’s a hugestep for us — and for them.”

For more information, go towww.urbancompass.org.

D

BREAKING THE C YCLEHelping inner-city youth find new directions is the goal of Urban Compass

by Nathan Dinsdale

[ m e a n s t r e e t s ]

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1960s reach organization she works withproduced a CD called The VoicelessAmong Us in which all the lyrics werewritten and performed by those whoare or have been homeless. “How-ever, my proudest achievement isbeing ‘Nana’ to five beautiful grand-children who light up my life in adeep and meaningful way,” Nan says.

LT. CMDR. JERRY SOCHOWSKI(B.A.) is with Eagle Systems Inc. inMaryland.

[ 1 9 7 2 ]DONALD NUNN (J.D.) construct-ed his own professional office build-ing in Poway, where he has practicedlaw for the last 25 years. The buildingopened in July 2007.

GEORGE URDZIK (M.Ed.) retiredfrom the Kendall Jackson WineEstates. Previously, he had spentmore than 35 years in the financialaid profession – including financialaid director at USD from 1970 to1973 – and is a lifetime member ofthe California Association of StudentFinancial Aid Administrators. Hewrites a column on wine for the CASFAA newsletter. George reportsthat running has been part of his rou-tine for more than 35 years.

TERRY WHITFIELD (B.A.) retiredin June 2005, having completed 32years as a junior high educator/coun-selor. Her interests now include weeklygolf, daily runs with her Dobermans,organic gardening, team bowling andbeing outdoors with family.

[ 1 9 7 3 ]LARRY BOUCHE (B.A.) is salesdirector for SmartDrive Systems in SanDiego. SmartDrive is a road safety toolfor professional drivers that capturesvideo to analyze driver events and toidentify and change unsafe driverbehavior. Larry and his wife, Susie, havetwo daughters, Geena and Aubree.

RUSSELL MAZZOLA (J.D.) prac-tices with Mazzola Law Offices inYakima, Wash.

[ 1 9 7 4 ]CRAIG WALKER (J.D.) is the litiga-tion tracking specialist and privacyofficer for the Arizona Department of Economic Security. His wife, Nora,is communications director for acommunity association. Craig andNora have two grandchildren.

[ 1 9 6 4 ]DELLE WILLETT STATTIN (B.A.)is the director of marketing at theSan Diego Natural History Museum.She recently helped her husbandbuild an experimental airplane, aLancair Legacy, which they fly everyweekend and have also used to takeseveral cross-country trips.

[ 1 9 6 7 ]LEW WALTON (J.D.) practices fed-eral and state tax law and tax litiga-tion with Buchalter Nemer in LosAngeles. His son, Richard, an attorneyand a certified public accountant,also practices with the firm. Richardteaches at the University of SouthernCalifornia Law School and at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles,and Lew teaches for him occasionallywhen needed. “We’re busy, and having more fun than humans have a right to,” Lew writes.

[ 1 9 6 8 ]ANTHONY GHIRONI (B.A.)has taught at Francis Parker MiddleSchool for 40 years. He has twodaughters and three grandchildren. “I enjoy teaching and plan to contin-ue doing it for a few years more,” hesays. “Thanks to USD, I have had awonderful career in education. Go‘Big Blue’ and God bless.”

[ 1 9 6 9 ]JACKSON MUECKE (B.A.)received a 25-year award at MerrillLynch. His son, Josh, is a top left-handed pitcher for the Triple-ARound Rock Express baseball team,an affiliate of the Houston Astros.With their fourth child, Lauren, in college, Jackson and his wife, Chris’78, are finally empty nesters.

[ 1 9 7 0 ]DAVID AGOSTO (B.A.) retiredafter working for more than 30 years incommunity colleges and opened TheFish Basket Restaurant in San Diego.

NAN (BAUM) BULISH (B.A.)earned her Ph.D. in leadership studiesat Gonzaga University in 2006. She isa professor at Spokane CommunityCollege and gives leadership trainingpresentations for businesses and cor-porations. Nan also serves the home-less on Monday nights with dinner,conversation and singing. The out-

[ 1 9 6 0 ]SISTER LINDA HAYWARD (B.A.,M.A. ’68) recently participated in a retreat in Israel that was centeredon remembering the women in theBible. On the trip, 34 lay and religiouswomen from across the United Statesreflected and prayed at many historicalsites and renowned locales, includingMount Tabor, Caesarea Philippi, theRiver Jordan, the Dead Sea, the GolanHeights, Be’er Sheba, Jerusalem andBethlehem.

[ 1 9 6 2 ]PEGGY (D’AGOSTINO) THOMP-SON (B.A.) and her husband, Don,are adult acolytes and Eucharisticministers at St. Joseph Husband ofMary Catholic Church in Las Vegas.Peggy is also president of the Knightsof Columbus Ladies Auxiliary for thesecond year, and she is the weddingcoordinator for her parish. As a con-sultant for the Clark County SchoolDistrict, Peggy mentors the district’snew music teachers in their first yearand she holds networking dinnersand workshops throughout the year.Peggy and Don have five grandchildren,love to travel, and look forward tocelebrating their 46th weddinganniversary.

[ 1 9 6 3 ]CLEMENT O’NEILL (J.D.) retiredin November 1995.

ELOISA (SANCHEZ) THOMPSON(B.A.) and her husband, Robert, haveretired to Baja California. They enjoywalking to the beach a block away.Eloisa was a medical technician atUCSD Medical Center and Robert wasa professor at Southwestern College inChula Vista. Two of their children weremarried recently and Eloisa’s motherpassed away on Jan. 25, 2008.

CHARLIE WICAL (BBA) retired inOregon. “Although I don’t know howone can retire on over 12 acres ofmostly forested land,” he writes, “having a lot of the proper tools andmachinery helps.” Charlie reportsspending much of his time kayakingand rafting on local lakes and white-water, as well as bicycling throughoutthe area and hosting family in theMcKenzie River Recreation Area. “Weare blessed. We’ll always have SanDiego County and USD in our hearts.”

[ 1 9 7 5 ]ROBERT BARRY (J.D.) just com-pleted his 31st year practicing law at Loeb & Loeb in Los Angeles.

JOANNE CULLEY (M.Ed.) and her husband, Laron, continue to travel.They joined friends from New Zealandon a trip to Alaska for two weeks andthey still vacation in Cabo San Lucas inBaja California once a year.

ROBERT LAMONT (B.A., M.Ed.’80) retired from the California edu-cation system in June 2006 after 20years. He moved to his farm on thebig island of Hawaii to raise goats,but after just three weeks of retire-ment, he went back to work as a spe-cial education teacher at WaiakeaIntermediate School in Hilo. Insteadof raising goats, Bob is now raisingsheep.

[ 1 9 7 6 ]CONGRESSWOMAN SHELLEYBERKLEY (J.D.) and her formerhusband, Fred, met at student orienta-tion in August 1974. They have twosons: Max, 25, a law student, and Sam,22, an undergraduate. Shelley remar-ried in 1999 to Larry Lehrner, anephrologist practicing in Las Vegas.Shelley has served in the Nevada StateAssembly, as a member of theUniversity and Community CollegeSystem of Nevada Board of Regents,and ran for a sixth term in the U.S.House of Representatives in Nov. 2008.

CHARLENE KANE (M.Ed.) retiredfrom the San Diego Unified SchoolDistrict.

DAVID MOUSSETTE (B.A., J.D.’81) is a special assistant U.S. attor-ney in the U.S. Air Force, practicingprimarily in the areas of criminalprosecution and disability and V.A.law. His 20 years in the service haveincluded assignments in England,Italy and Iceland. David’s wife, Linda,is retired from civil service and enjoysgardening and volunteering.

[ 1 9 7 7 ]JOSEPH GHOUGASSIAN (M.A.,’80 J.D.) is the chief of party forAlternative Development Program, a project funded by the U.S. Agencyfor International Development, whosemission is to reduce the cultivation ofpoppies (opium) in the province ofFarah, Afghanistan, by offering analternative agricultural livelihood.Joseph’s fourth book, The Knight and

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Attorney’s Office for a year and thenspent 22 years in the San MateoCounty District Attorney’s Officeprosecuting general felony, sexualassault and homicide cases. On theSuperior Court bench sinceSeptember 2006, she is currentlyassigned to the family law division. “I love being a judge and am gratefulfor the opportunity to serve my com-munity in this capacity,” Susan says.

GAYLIA (WADE) HANSON (BSN)is a nurse in the cardiovascular lab atBorgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo,Mich., and has rotated through thestaff/charge preceptor role for 23years. “Time flies as I have been an R.N.for 30 years!” she says. She and herhusband, David, live with their chil-dren, Chelsey and Alex, on Gull Lake in Richland, where they enjoy tubing,boating and fishing. Chelsey is inter-ested in studying nursing atKalamazoo Valley College.

CHRISTINE MUGRIDGE (B.A.) isthe host of Rome to Home, a weeklylive radio report from Rome, Italy. Sheis also co-author of a book, John PaulII: Development of a Theology ofCommunication.

ROD PACHECO (J.D.) was seniordeputy district attorney in RiversideCounty from 1984 to 1996. From 1996to 2002, he served as a California stateassemblyman for the 64th District, rep-resenting western Riverside County.Rod returned to the Riverside CountyDistrict Attorney’s Office in 2002, andhe was elected district attorney forRiverside County in 2006, with servicebeginning on Jan. 1, 2008.

[ 1 9 8 4 ]SALLY BENNETT-SCHMIDT(M.Ed., Ed.D. ’97) joined the SanDiego County Office of Education inApril 2007 as an assessment coordina-tor. She works with districts through-out the county in formative and sum-mative assessment and data analysis.She is also a lecturer at USD and teach-es Measurement and Evaluation inEducational Settings in the master’sprogram in learning and teaching.

STEVE GAUVIN (BBA) and hiswife, Shirley, have been married for14 years and they have three daugh-ters, ages 12, 11 and 7. The familylives in Coronado. Steve is a fieldsales representative for ArrowElectronics and has been encourag-ing his fellow Sigma Pi brothers to

[ r e u n i o n r e m i n d e r ]

the Falcon: The Coming of Christianity inQatar, a Muslim Nation chronicles hisefforts to influence the government ofQatar to lift a centuries-long prohibi-tion of the practice of Christianity.Pope John Paul II knighted Joseph forhis work in religious freedom and forhis success in Qatar.

[ 1 9 7 8 ]DENNIS BAUER (J.D.) is a seniordeputy district attorney for OrangeCounty, Calif. He has been with theOrange County District Attorney’sOffice since 1985 and was with theLos Angeles District Attorney’s Officefor six years prior to that.

KEN ZUETEL (J.D.) is a managingpartner of Zuetel & Torigian inPasadena, Calif., specializing in thearbitration of professional liabilitycases. He spends much of his timeforming insurance companies forphysicians and attorneys, and is chief executive officer of AttorneysIndemnity Insurance Co. Ken reportsthat one of his greatest achievementstook place on May 7, 2008, when hepresented his son, Bryan, with a J.D.diploma from USD’s School of Law.

[ 1 9 7 9 ]CAROLYN (JONES) NUNES(M.Ed.) was named senior directorof special education in 2006 for the San Diego County Office ofEducation. Previously, she had spent27 years with the San Diego UnifiedSchool District. Her husband, Garry, is retired and busy remodeling theirhome in Lakeside. Their children areboth at the University of California,Santa Barbara. Danielle, 21, is a lin-guistics major with a speech andhearing minor, and Scott, 19, ismajoring in chemical engineering.

[ 1 9 8 0 ]GUSTAVO BLANKENBURG(MBA) reports that his latest business venture is importing andmarketing original art from LatinAmerican artists. His Web site iswww.artenaive.ecrater.com.

DIANE (BARRY) BRANKS (B.A.)is a vascular podiatrist at KaiserPermanente. She also is president ofthe Southern California HMOPodiatric Medical Society and wasnominated to the board of the

California Podiatric Medical Society. A lecture she presented to the ThirdAnnual National General SurgerySymposium in Napa, Calif., was pub-lished through the California MedicalAssociation Audio Digest. Diane is mar-ried, has three teenagers, and she raisesorchids and koi in her spare time.

CLIFFORD LEVY (J.D.) remains intouch with fellow 1980 law graduatesJeff Scott, Steve Scherb, HernanCetina and others who practice inSan Diego. “Please stop by theWorkers’ Compensation AppealsBoard and say hello,” Cliff says.

CYNTHIA MARQUEZ (B.A.)reports that she is doing well in PalmSprings. Her daughter Alexis graduat-ed from Barnard College in 2005 andplans to attend law school in 2009. Her daughter Schuyler is a student atMount Holyoke College in Massa-chusetts. Schuyler is also a cellist withthe Mount Holyoke Symphony.

MARTY MATES (BBA) was namedthe electric power industry accountmanager for the western United Stateswith responsibility for all productswithin the Baldor Dodge Relianceorganization. Marty and his wife andtwo children live in Salt Lake City.

MARGARET MCMURRAY (J.D.)and her partner, Denise Matyka,adopted a baby girl from Russia in2003. Their daughter is a happy,healthy 5-year-old, says Margaret,who is a consultant to public charterschools with the Wisconsin state edu-cation department. “It is a fascinatingopportunity to see what motivateschildren to learn who have had littlesuccess in traditional school models,”Margaret says.

JOSEPH ROGERS (B.S.) is enjoy-ing retirement and putting the finish-ing touches on a novel, Running onEmpty, a story of life in the 1970s andthe last days of the Vietnam War. Joeis also replacing the engine in his sail-boat. “People ask me, ‘What do youneed an engine on a sailboat for?’”Joe says. “Ever try to get one out of a slip that’s downwind?” He has alsobeen serving as commodore of theLong Beach Singles Yacht Club formore than a year.

CATHERINE (HOPKINS)SCHAFER (BSN) has 19 great-grandchildren whom she is trying tohelp educate. “It also gives me nice

places to visit around the UnitedStates!” Catherine says.

DANNIE TOBIAS (BBA) operates asuccessful valuation, financial analysisand tax practice specializing in electric,gas and water utilities worldwide.

COLETTE YORK (BSN, MSN ’82,D.N.Sc. ’94) is an associate profes-sor in the MSN program at Mount St. Mary’s College. She also designedand implemented the nursing pro-gram at Concordia University, Irvineand acted as interim director. Coletteis an accreditation site visitor for theCommission on Collegiate NursingEducation and she is a nursing edu-cation consultant for West CoastUniversity.

[ 1 9 8 1 ]KAREN (DAVIDSON) BARNETT(B.A.) and her husband, Jerold, cele-brated their 20th wedding anniver-sary with a two-week family vacationin St. Maarten in the Caribbean.

CLAIRE (CARPENTER) BENTON(B.A.) is the program coordinator atSt. Andrew’s by-the-Sea EpiscopalChurch. She plans events and teachesSunday school to children ages 3 to 8.Over the summer, they had a story-telling vacation Bible school in theevenings. Claire also belongs to theNational Episcopal Association ofChristian Education Directors. “Christianeducation is my destiny,” she says.

PATRICIA HUNTER (BSN) is theowner of Government Relations Group,in which she and her business partnerprovide consulting, advocacy and asso-ciation management. She is the execu-tive director of the American NursesAssociation/CA and Hearing HealthcareProviders/CA. Patricia is president of theRotary Club of Mission Bay and thenursing equipment coordinator for sur-gical mission trips to Tecate, Costa Ricaand (in the future) Haiti.

[ 1 9 8 2 ]DANIEL FINSTER (BBA) was pro-moted in January 2008 to regionalvice president in charge of UnionBank’s San Diego middle marketbanking group.

[ 1 9 8 3 ]SUSAN ETEZADI (J.D.) is aCalifornia Superior Court judge inSan Mateo County. After graduatingfrom USD, Susan worked in theSacramento County District

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return to USD to celebrate their 25thanniversary at homecoming.

RANDOLPH HOUTS (J.D.) is theauthor of Pratt’s State by State DebtCollections, published by SheshunoffInformation Services in May 2008.The book is a survey of the debt collection and fair collection practicelaws in all 50 states, along withimportant questions for creditorscontemplating legal action on a debtin an unfamiliar state. Randolph alsoconducts national online seminars oncollection, bankruptcy and foreclo-sure. Since 1994, he has practicedcreditor and bankruptcy law throughHouts and Associates in El Cajon.

STEVEN JANOWICZ (B.A.)founded Elwood Sports Managementin Michigan, a firm solely represent-ing professional hockey players inEurope and North America.

DONALD JONES (J.D.) is vicepresident of business development forhealth and life sciences at Qualcomm,responsible for fostering the compa-ny’s wireless technologies in the healthand life sciences markets. Prior to join-ing Qualcomm, Donald spent 22 yearsdeveloping healthcare enterprises,including serving as chief operatingofficer for the world’s largest medicalservices provider, and participating inmore than 130 acquisitions. He is alsothe founder of the Wireless LifeSciences Alliance, an organization thatworks with the wireless and life sci-ences industries to create new busi-ness models.

TATIANA (JIMENEZ) MONT-GOMERY (B.A.) is working for anutritional company from home,happy to be her own boss and sether own hours. “Loving life!” she says.“Stay well, happy and healthy!”

[ 1 9 8 5 ]CRAIG HAMILTON (BBA) is withHeritage Paper Co. in Sonoma, Calif.He reports that he is busy with soc-cer, surfing, family, abalone divingand work.

JEFFREY LEE (M.Ed.) lives inGilbert, Ariz., where he is helping apastor friend establish a new church:Genesis Christian Church. “Please stopby for some cold bottled water if youare ever near Phoenix,” he says.

IOKAPETA (TAUOILIIILI)RITCHEY (BSN) is a part-time stu-

dent at California State University,Dominguez Hills, working toward amaster’s degree with an emphasis onnursing education. She is also presi-dent of the San Diego chapter of theAmerican Association of OperatingRoom Nurses.

MICHAEL SCHNEIDER (B.A.) cel-ebrated his 19th year of working forCostco Wholesale in City of Industry.He lives with his partner of over 10years in Montclair.

DONALD STUKES (BBA) and hiswife, Lyda, live in Orange County, Calif.,with their daughter, Chelsea, who juststarted high school. Chelsea plans toattend the University of California atIrvine and major in software engineer-ing. After 20 years in corporate man-agement positions, Donald started hisown business and technology consult-ing firm in July 2001. Lyda is a staffmember of the California StateUniversity system. Recent travelsincluded trips to Vancouver, Canada,and Yosemite, Calif.

ANTHONY TODORA (BBA) andhis wife, Lety, welcomed their secondchild, Nicholas, on Aug. 23, 2007.Nicholas joins older sister, Christina,4. Anthony sells commercial and resi-dential properties in Palos Verdes,Calif., and surrounding areas. “I wouldlove to hear from other alumni in thearea,” he writes.

[ 1 9 8 6 ]MIKE HAMILTON (B.A.) and hiswife, Shannon, have been married for19 years and they have three daugh-ters: Layne, 15; Halle, 13; and Molly,11. They have lived in Pleasanton,Calif., for 12 years. Mike is a globalaccount manager for an air freightcompany.

JULIE BARRETT O’BRIEN (B.A.)and her husband, David, live inConcord, Mass., with their two sons,Sam, 13, and Carter, 4. “My husbandis a political activist and a super dele-gate, which keeps our life buzzingwith political energy!” she says. Julie’swork as a vice president forManagement Sciences for Health, aninternational development organiza-tion, has taken her to countries suchas Afghanistan, Haiti, South Africaand Nicaragua. “I am completelyinspired by the strength of thewomen and their communities whoare trying to overcome severe pover-ty, disease and conflict,” Julie says.

[ r e u n i o n r e m i n d e r ]

ack in Jennifer Sbranti'scollege days, “party plan-ning” meant little more

than deciding between cans orbottles or figuring out how toget a borrowed foosball tablethrough the back door. But now the USD alumna —

who graduated in 1999 —spends most waking hours por-ing over recipes for “signaturecocktails,” deliberating contrastingcolor schemes and trolling theWeb for the latest trends in stylishentertaining. Sbranti’s Web site,“Hostess with the Mostess” —which she runs with her husband,fellow USD graduate SonnySbranti — has carved a niche foritself in the world of event plan-ning, with nearly 175,000 uniqueusers and a blog that draws near-ly 5,000 readers per day. GoodMorning America invited Sbrantito appear in a segment aboutsummer parties, and her site hasbeen featured in publicationssuch as InStyle Weddings, RealSimple and The Nest. In addition to developing and

maintaining the site, the SanDiego-based couple runs SbrantiDesign, advises celebrity clientssuch as The Bachelor’s TristaSutter and The Biggest Loser'sAlison Sweeney on party plan-ning, and hosts workshops onentertaining for corporate spon-sor Chambord Liqueur, the mostrecent being a “Modern ParisianSoirée” in New York City for morethan 200 guests. Sbranti said theidea for her business came aboutafter graduation, when herfriends started getting marriedand having children. “I started hosting bridal and

baby showers for them, but I

wasn't finding a lot of greatentertaining ideas online,” sherecalls. “What I thought was miss-ing was content that cateredtoward a younger crowd, thingsthat were stylish and super easyto do. I didn’t have the time orbudget for ‘expert’ ideas that weredifficult or expensive, but I didn'twant to just pick something up atParty City either. I got kind of frus-trated by the experience andstarted coming up with my ownthemes and decorating tricks.”HWTM is all about using inex-

pensive, widely available materi-als to turn tradition on its head.For a dazzling winter display,Sbranti used peacock feathersand a corresponding colorscheme, and created a mommy-centric "Baby Bling" theme for ababy shower that featuredrhinestone-bedecked pacifiers. In the future, the Sbrantis hope

to transform their site into a one-stop party planning tool, whereusers will be able to design per-sonalized invitations, download abudget calculator and searchother users' party pics. One would think that with

their busy schedules, the lastthing the Sbrantis would want todo in their down time is plan aparty of their own. But the cou-ple said they still get togetherevery year with members of theirgraduating class. The decor andhors d'oeuvres might be a littlemore chic, but the friendshipshaven't changed much, saysSbranti, “even if everyone doesgo home a little earlier.”

To learn more about JenniferSbranti’s projects, go towww.hostesswiththemostess.com.

CHIC DREAMSLooking for style, ease, affordability?Just ask the Hostess with the Mostessby Tiffany Fox

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eight-month sabbatical to Spain.Joseph reports that he served as anapprentice matador in Spain and isnow “off of crutches and undergoingphysical therapy.”

ROBERT N. REINCKE (MBA)recently completed his second book,Falling Off the Catwalk, whichrecounts his experience in Europe in the mid-1990s as an internationalfashion model. Robert co-founded an independent publishing company,Spunky Books, which published hisfirst novel, Death of a Past Life.Additionally, he has been working as a successful business writer toimmigration attorneys on behalf ofinvestor immigrants for the pastseven years. He currently lives inLos Angeles.

[ 1 9 8 9 ]MARIE (GIBLIN) ANDERSON(B.A.) and her husband, Robert, areboth in pharmaceutical sales. Theyjust celebrated the second birthdayof their son, Joseph. In February2008, Marie underwent a two-levelback fusion surgery and then physi-cal therapy.

DEAN COFFIN (BBA) is a fieldadviser and examiner for the state of Maine. “I enjoyed my days in SanDiego,” Dean says.

STEVEN GLYNN (BBA) earned anMBA from Pepperdine University inDecember 2007. He is a senior vicepresident for FX Sales & Technology,and he has a vineyard in CalaverasCounty. Steven says he welcomesinformation from other alumni whoown vineyards. “My children, Liamand Amanda, and my wife, Susan,continue to be the best part of myday, every day!” he says.

STUART GRAUER (Ed.D.) wasawarded Peacemaker of the Year in2008 by the Encinitas RotaryInternational, and San Diego Magazinenamed him one of the 50 People toWatch in 2008. He is in the final phaseof developing The Grauer School, a col-lege preparatory school for grades sixthrough 12 in Encinitas. Stuart is creat-ing a trip to Jerusalem to engage SanDiego students in forums with youthsfrom six schools in Jerusalem.

JOHN HOFFMAN (B.A.) is theowner/founder of Arizona Radiology,specializing in medical imaging clin-ics throughout Phoenix. He is happily

married with three sons: J.P., 8;Tommy, 5; and Mark, 3.

JAMES KELLY (Ed.D.) serves onseveral boards, including the Boys andGirls Foundation, Lions Club of SanDiego and the San Diego Council, NavyLeague of the United States. James isalso a member of the Sacred HeartChurch choir in Coronado and theImplementation Review Committee ofthe City of San Diego Past Grand Jurors.He is a part-time instructor of naval sea-manship and shiphandling and authorof a weekly column on current eventsand military affairs.

AMY (PERKINS) MELDEN (B.A.)is married to her college sweetheart,who is now a psychiatrist. “He keepsme sane while I juggle my two boys,ages 5 and 8, and a career as a corpo-rate real estate lawyer,” she says. Theylive in Coronado, “aka paradise.”

MICHELLE QUINN (BBA) recentlywon a precedent-setting case beforethe New York Court of Appeals, thehighest court in the state.

MARY JANE (HALL) WILLIS(B.A.) earned a Ph.D. in biochem-istry from the University of Coloradoin 1995 and an M.D. in 1999. She hada residency in pediatrics from 1999 to2002 at the University of California,San Diego, and a fellowship in clinicalgenetics at UCSD from 2004 to 2007.Mary Jane is a doctor of clinicalgenetics at the Navy Medical Center,San Diego. She and her husband,Michael, have two daughters: Emma,11, and Isabel, 5.

[ 1 9 9 0 ]CARLOS BOSDET (BBA) is contin-uing the family business of interiordesign in Tijuana, handling residen-tial, commercial and hospitality proj-ects throughout Mexico. He staysbusy raising three daughters with hiswife, Gabina, in Chula Vista.

CHRISTOPHER BUTLER (B.A.)celebrated 16 years of marriage inSeptember 2008 with his wife,Kristen. They are enjoying watchingtheir two daughters, Katelyn, 4, andKylie, 5, grow and develop. “Goodthoughts and wishes to all,” he says.

STEVEN PERBIX (J.D.) opened asolo practice in Decatur, Ill., in May2008 after more than 16 years in thepartnership of Shay & Perbix.

THOMAS VENTIMIGLIA (BBA)has been a professor of counseling atPalomar College in San Marcos for 18years, providing academic, career andpersonal counseling. He self-publisheda book, Quest for the Empowered Self,and had an award-winning education-al television show by the same name.Thomas also was the co-host of a tele-vision program called Tapping IntoWellness: Energy Medicine for the 21stCentury. His Web sites are: www.tap-pingintowellness.com and www.quest-fortheempoweredself.com. “I missUSD,” he says.

[ 1 9 8 7 ]TOMASZ BYSIEK (B.A.) and hiswife, Natasha Storm, welcomed adaughter, Ava Storm, on April 3, 2008.Natasha joins older brothers, ThomasStorm, born on March 7, 2002, andRobert Storm, born on May 22, 2005.

LORRIE CORETTE CAMPBELL(M.A.) recently celebrated 10 yearsin a private counseling practice inButte, Mont.

LAUREL (SELMO) EMSLEY (J.D.)and her husband, Robert, have beenmarried for seven years and theyenjoy living in Carmel, Calif. Laurel’schildren are grown, so she has freetime to pursue her love of dogs, horses and endurance riding. She has changed careers and now is agroup therapist on the psychiatricunit of a community hospital. “Myyears in law school were fun for meand I loved being with all you smart,witty people,” she writes. “I send youall my best and wish you well.”

THERESE GIBBS (J.D.) has beenworking with Worden Williams for 20 years handling environmental,land use and local government law.She also practiced for two years inColorado.

[ 1 9 8 8 ]JACQUELINE (MYRICK) MEJIA(B.A.) was named the Orange Groveteacher of the year for 2007-08. She isa middle school teacher at OrangeGrove Middle School in HaciendaHeights, Calif.

JOSEPH MURASKO (J.D.) recent-ly returned to Jupiter, Fla., from an

NAVY CMDR. REUBEN FLOYD(BBA) was awarded the MeritoriousService Medal while serving assquadron executive officer and E-6b/C-130 platform coordinator withthe Naval Air Warfare Center AircraftDivision in Patuxent River, Md.Reuben led 390 active duty, civil serv-ice and contractor personnel indevelopmental ground and flighttesting of 24 Naval aircraft valued atmore than $1.7 billion.

CATHY (PERKINS) MORRIS(B.A.) welcomed a son, Michael, inAugust 2007. Michael joins big sister,Kate, 4. Cathy joined CountrywideInsurance Services as vice presidentof district sales in April 2008.

SUEDINE (BOHN) NAKANO(B.A.) is a program coordinator forinternational students at theUniversity of California, Irvine. Sincegraduating from USD, she hasworked at the British Council and as acultural affairs assistant at the U.S.Consulate in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Shehas been married for nine years andhas a daughter in grade school.

CYNTHIA (KOVOL) NICHOLSON(BBA) and her husband, Jed ’97,announce the birth of their daughter,Kate Jane, on July 11, 2008. She wasborn at Twin Cities CommunityHospital in Templeton, Calif., andjoins older siblings Karen Jane, 8, andJohn Frederick, 4. Jed is a partner atAdamski Moroski Madden and Greenin Paso Robles, Calif., and Cynthia is aproperty manager. She enjoys volun-teering at school and spending timewith her family and friends.

[ 1 9 9 1 ]CHRISTIN MOREY (MSN) is afamily nurse practitioner at a MinuteClinic in Minneapolis.

MIGUEL VAZQUEZ (B.A.) is director of college placement at theCharter High School for Architecture& Design in Philadelphia.

LISA (CHEUNG) WANG (B.Acc.)left Deloitte Tax in January 2008 andjoined Nara Bank in Los Angeles asfirst vice president and tax manager.She and her husband, David, are busyat home with their three sons: Jaxon,6; Jacob, 4; and Jared, 1.

[ 1 9 9 2 ]CHRISTOPHER DANIEL (B.A.)and his wife, Michelle, welcomed

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their second daughter, Kaitlin Louise,to the family in November 2007. “Lifein Rhode Island is treating the familywell,” Christopher says.

SCOTT DININ (MBA) is presidentof Dinin Partners, an advisory firmthat has provided solutions fororganizations in the United States,China, Mexico and Canada. In itseighth year of business, the firm isnow providing outsourcing throughgeneral counsel and chief financialofficer services for several companies.

DAVID HIRSCH (J.D.) spent fiveyears as a deputy public defenderand was recently named a SuperiorCourt commissioner to the VenturaCounty Superior Court. David and his wife, Jacquey, and their daughter,Rachel, 14, live in Ventura.

CHRISTINE (MORVILLO) LUSK(B.A.) is a project manager forinVentiv Clinical in The Woodlands,Texas. She and her husband, Tom, cel-ebrated their 10-year weddinganniversary in Maine and Canada.They have two children: Marit, 7, andGranger, 4.

CHRISTOPHER THOMAS (B.A.)earned his MBA in 2001 and he is theowner of CRT Insurance and FinancialServices. Christopher is a member ofthe Temecula Sheriff’s MountedPosse. He and his wife, Tracy, havefour children.

[ 1 9 9 3 ]MARY BACHKO (MSN) completeda certification course as a certifiednurse-midwife in 1999 and has deliv-ered more than 800 babies. She andher husband, Larry, relocated toSpokane, Wash., for the countrylifestyle and no traffic. Mary was pro-moted to captain in the U.S. Navy andshe works as a family nurse practition-er, providing full-scope family care.

MONICA (ROSE) BRUNNER(B.A.) and her husband, Tim, ownAxis Design Group Architecture andPlanning in Portland, Ore. In April2008, Monica and Tim took their twodaughters, Cézanne, 10, and Carly, 5, to South Korea to bring home thenewest member of their family: CalebSu-min Ronald, a boy they adoptedthrough Holt International. “We havebeen truly blessed by this addition toour family,” Monica says. “I am enjoyingmy new role as a mother of three.”

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GRETCHEN WIDA CORBELL(J.D.) works part time as an attorneyunder the general counsel at amoney management firm. Herdaughter, Brigitte, 7, and son, Kristof,5, keep her busy and they spend asmuch time as they can on the beach.Gretchen and her husband, Peter, cel-ebrated their 12th wedding anniver-sary in August.

TERENCE FOX (B.A.) and Michele(O'Donnell) Fox '93 welcomed theirthird son, Brady O'Brien, on May 1,2008. Brady joins Ryan, 8 and Connor,5. Terence is President of M.E. Fox & Coand Michele is a stay-at-home mom.The family lives in San Jose, Calif.

JENNIFER GIAMBELLUCA (B.A.)recently built and moved into anew lake house in upstate NewYork. She is working toward a master’s degree in public policyand social welfare administration at The Rockefeller College of PublicAffairs and Policy, State Universityof New York at Albany. Jennifer is a single mom. Through a nationalnonprofit organization, she workswith autistic and developmentallydisabled children and adults to navigate the Office of MentalRetardation and DevelopmentalDisability and the Office of MentalHealth.

KEVIN HERDE (BBA) and his wife,Freya, welcomed their second child,Alexa Lauren, in August 2008. Alexajoins Garret Trey, 2. Kevin is the cor-porate controller for Gen-Probe Inc.and Freya is a senior tax manager forDeloitte. The family lives in SanDiego’s Kensington neighborhood.

BRENT HODGES (B.Acc.) is principal of Rancho Solano PrivateSchools in Scottsdale, Ariz. Brent livesin Phoenix with his son, T.J., who is inthe seventh grade.

CATHERINE DUFORT KUIPER(B.A., M.Ed. ’94) teaches at JulianHigh School and she recently com-pleted her fourth trip to Costa Ricawith her high schoolers. She and herhusband, Jason, have two children:Tierra, 5, and Christian, 2. Jason isassistant director at Camp Cedar Glen and volunteers for the local firedepartment.

HAYES MAURO (B.A.) finished hisPh.D. in art history in 2007. He plansto publish his dissertation, Made in

the U.S.A.: Americanizing Aesthetics atCarlisle, as a full-length book.

GINA (HAMILTON) MEYER(B.A.) and her husband, Neal ’94,live in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Gina is a fitness instructor at SpectrumAthletic Clubs, and Neal is an assis-tant coach with the Los AngelesClippers. They have two daughters:McKenzie and Madeline.

ANTONIO SAGUIBO (J.D.)was promoted to vice president ofaccount management and sales forHawaii’s largest health plan, whichserves nearly 700,000 residents. Healso serves on the board of directorsfor the National Labor Office. Tonyand his wife, Cindi, have two daugh-ters, ages 13 and 5, who are busywith after-school activities such asorchestra, swimming and karate.

[ 1 9 9 4 ]GARETT CHURCHILL (B.A.) ownsElite Neon Co., specializing in coldcathode lighting and neon signs. Heand his wife, Holly, have three chil-dren, ages 1, 4 and 6.

AMY DEWINTER (B.A.) and herhusband, Tom Zajkowski, moved toRaleigh, N.C., in 2005, shortly aftertheir wedding in Hawaii. They wel-comed their first child, Noah DavidZajkowski, on May 17, 2008. Amy leftthe corporate world in October 2007to be a stay-at-home mom. In herfree time, she is a marketing consult-ant for the medical device communi-ty in Research Triangle Park.

MICHAEL FREEHILL (B.A.) is inthe fourth year of his orthopaedicsurgery residency at Johns HopkinsHospital in Baltimore. He hopes toalso do two fellowships: one in sportsmedicine and one focusing on theshoulder and elbow. Michael and hiswife, Karein, live in the suburbs ofBaltimore with their two children:Lizzie, 3, and Jack, 6 months.

EVE FROMBERG-EDELSTEIN(B.A.) is executive director and chiefexecutive officer of The Smile Factoryfor the Children of the Desert in PalmSprings, Calif. The Smile Factory is anonprofit organization that providesfree dental screening, education andtreatment to low-income children inthe Coachella Valley.

BETSY KUMMER (B.A.) lives inSwaziland, where she works for a

nonprofit organization dedicated toaddressing the HIV/AIDS and repro-ductive health issues of Swazi youth.Her work focuses primarily on man-agement training and mobilizingfinancial resources for health pro-grams. Betsy lives in the capital city,Mbabane with her husband anddaughter, Molly, 2.

JONAH WEINBERG (B.A.) and hispartner recently moved to Ohio,where he is the director of communi-cations and marketing for the JewishCommunity Federation of Cleveland.

MATTHEW ZELLER (B.A.) joineda new family practice in Mission Viejo,Calif. He and his wife, Diane, areenjoying their first child, Elizabeth,who is 9 months old.

[ 1 9 9 5 ]JEFFREY P. CHAMBERLAIN(B.A.) has joined the energy man-agement firm Equity Thru Energy asdirector of sales.

DEBI HUYSSOON (B.A.) and herhusband, Scott Grant, have beenmarried for six years and they have ason, Braydon, 2. Debi has been verybusy with a dental practice inSherwood, Ore., that she purchasedrecently. She also works two days aweek in another dental office as anassociate. “Things are hectic, but I’mhaving fun,” she says.

JARRETT KOTROZO (BBA)recently completed his doctorate inbusiness administration at RensselaerPolytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., andhas returned to California as an assis-tant professor of management atCalifornia State University, Stanislaus.

KAREN (FORTUNE) LILLEY(B.A.) has lived in Denver since 2000 and she works for The Food Guy Catering Co. in Lakewood, Colo.Karen and her husband, Mark, weremarried in 2001 and they have a son,Weston, 4.

TIMOTHY MATHY (B.A.) and hiswife Jennifer welcomed their third child,Sarah Josephine, on July 29, 2008.Everyone is healthy and doing well.

CHRISTOPHER PARTA (B.A.)graduated from Clark Law School inDecember 2007 and passed theOregon Bar Exam. Christopher and hiswife, Tiffany, have a son, Liam, 4, whoenjoys preschool, trains and baseball.

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GINA SURGEON (BBA) was pro-moted to senior auditor and controllermanager with the County of SanDiego. She has been an active volun-teer with the Urban League of SanDiego County and is on the board ofdirectors at her church, St. Stephen’sCathedral, Church of God in Christ.

INGE (WRIGHT) TAYLOR (BSN)is a certified nurse and midwife forChula Vista OB/GYN and also a clini-cal instructor for National Universityand for Grossmont College.

[ 1 9 9 6 ]NICOLE (MESSINEO) ANTHONY(B.A.), her husband, Sean, and theirson, Jack, 3, welcomed Sophia Bellaon May 7, 2007. The family lives inLaguna Niguel, Calif. Nicole is in herseventh year of practice with the LawOffices of Tobin Lucks in Irvine.

DAWN BIRDSALL-HUGHES(B.A.) is an importer of securitydevices and she plays semiprofes-sional soccer in Colorado. Her hus-band, Todd, is in nursing school.

MARK BOSSE (B.A.) and his wife,Michelle (Trechter) ’97, live inMexico City with their sons, Jacob,3, and Luke, 1. Mark is a diplomatwith the U.S. State Department.Prior to their tour in Mexico, theylived in Melbourne, Australia, forfour years. In Oct. 2009, they plan to return to Washington, D.C.,before Mark takes up his new postas political officer at the U.S.Embassy in Vienna, Austria.

LT. CMDR. JOAQUIN CORREIA(B.A.) moved to Sicily, Italy, as theexecutive officer of the communica-tions station for the U.S. Navy.

KRYSTEN (ANDEL) NEWBURY(B.A.) graduated from the sheriff’sacademy in December 2007 andseeks a career in law enforcement.

JEWEL (RICARDO) PIERCE(B.Acc.) and her husband, Robert,welcomed their first child, KailaGrace, on May 19, 2008. “We are alldoing well,” Jewel says. The other bigchange in their lives is that Jeweltraded teaching to become a smallbusiness owner.

RYAN PIETRANTON (BBA, MBA’98) married Anne Bowron in July2008. Ryan and Anne honeymoonedin Ireland and live in Las Vegas.

SUZANNE TIBOR (B.A.) and herhusband, Edwin Medina, welcomedsecond child Matthias James on June26, 2008. “Four-year-old Lily lovesbeing a big sister.” Suzanne is still afreelance editor and photo researcherfor educational children’s books. Thefamily lives in Whittier, Calif.

KIRSTI (SERAFINE) YOUNG(B.A.) moved to Auckland, NewZealand in 2005 and married hus-band Ryan, “a Kiwi,” in 2006. Kirsti isan investment banker at Ernst &Young, and the couple welcomedbaby Innora Joy on Aug. 26.

[ 1 9 9 7 ]EDWARD L. ABEYTA (M.S.) isregistrar and director of academicservices at UC San Diego Extension.He was recently selected as the staffadvisor-designate to the Regents for2008-09 by the University ofCalifornia Office of the President.

JENNIFER (TOWNS) ANDRACA(BBA) and her husband, Chris, weremarried on Nov. 10, 2007. They live in San Francisco, where Jennifer hasworked at Charles Schwab for 10years and Chris works at LeoBurnett/ARC.

COLLEEN (CRAWFORD) BOEHM(BBA) and husband Mike welcomedtheir son, Nicholas Michael, on Sept.22, 2008. He was over 9 pounds and 21 inches long. He joins big sister, Ellie,3. Colleen is an at-home mom who israrely at home; she owns her ownevent planning company, EventArtistry, LLC, and primarily plans wed-dings and other social events. She istaking a short break from planningevents while her kids are small and, inthe meantime, has become a consult-ant for the Pampered Chef. Colleenand her family live in Sussex, Wis.

LT. CMDR. DAN COBIAN (B.A.)has completed two years on the staffof the Chief of Naval Operations andis now starting his Federal ExecutiveFellowship at RAND Corporation inWashington D.C. He lives in NorthernVirginia with his wife, Lilian (Mamou)'97 and their 3-year old daughterDanica.

RUSS LEMELIN (J.D., MBA) wasnamed CFO to TravelMuse, Inc. Russis formerly the CFO and interim CEOfor SideStep.

YVONNE MOULTRIE (B.A.)earned a master’s degree in educationfrom San Diego State University in May2007. She was named the 2007Teacher of the Year at King/ChavezArts Academy in San Diego.

RICH PAPAPIETRO (BBA) and hiswife, Fran, welcomed a daughter,Gabriella Francesca, on May 1, 2008.Gabriella joins older brother, Richard,3. Rich owns De Anza Tile Co. in PaloAlto, Calif., specializing in commercialtile and stonework. Fran has been aRealtor with Coldwell Banker in LosAltos since 2001.

KATE (ZAIA) SINCLAIR (B.A.)and her husband, Peter, welcomedtheir first child, Mary, in November.

CASEY (WALTON) WHALEN(B.A.) and Eric Whalen were marriedin 2006 in Carmel, Calif. USD alumni inthe wedding were Colleen Coffey andJennifer Towns. Casey has been teach-ing Advanced Placement U.S.Goverment for seven years; six ofwhich were at El Camino High Schoolin Oceanside, Calif. (home of USD ath-letic star Gyno Pomare). She and herhusband now live in Sacramento, Calif.and Casey teaches in Elk Grove, Calif.

GREG YOUNG (LL.M.) has attend-ed public and private internationallaw studies programs at The HagueAcademy of International Law. Healso has been a visiting research fel-low in international law at TheUniversity of Cambridge, received aFulbright Award for international lawteaching in Baku, Azerbaijan, and haslectured and conducted studyabroad programs in Vietnam, Chinaand London. In October 2007, hegave the keynote lecture on compar-ative financial regulation at theShanghai International FinancialConference. Years ago, Greg was anattorney specializing in SecuritiesExchange Commission enforcementand corporate reorganization as wellas a bankruptcy trustee.

[ 1 9 9 8 ]ALISHA (RELIHAN) FAHREN-DORF (B.A.) and her husband,Chris, proudly announce the birth ofJohn Patrick on Jan. 6, 2008. Patrickjoins siblings Christopher, 9; Andrew,6; and Isabella, 4. John was namedafter Alisha’s father, who passed awayunexpectedly last summer. The fami-ly lives in Phoenix, where Alisha is an

at-home mom and Chris is a realestate attorney.

MATTHEW GESKE (B.Acc.) iscontroller for Rexnord Industries inMilwaukee. He and his wife, Jerri,have three children, ages 5, 3, and 7 months.

CHRISTINA HALL (B.A.) marriedJon Bailleul on Dec. 15, 2006, andthey welcomed a daughter, ReaganMary Lani, on May 19, 2008. Christinahas been an English teacher for nineyears and currently teaches atCathedral Catholic High School inSan Diego.

ANNE (KIESELBACH) HEDEKIN(M.A.) and her husband have twodaughters. Anne is a counselor andteacher at San Diego Mesa College.

PRESTON PANZA (BBA) and hiswife, Pamela, announce the birth of a baby boy, Brandon Scot, on May 7,2008, in Littleton, Colo. He weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces.

JOSEPH PATRICO (J.D.) is a certi-fied specialist in workers’ compensa-tion law. In 2008, he was named chief financial officer and managingshareholder of Heggeness, Sweet,Simington & Patrico, which defendsemployers and insurance companiesthroughout Southern California. Joeand his wife, Lisa, have four children.

ZACHARY PELCHAT (J.D.) is acivil rights attorney in the Office forCivil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education. He has developed aspecialty in Title IX athletics enforce-ment and other issues of genderequity. Zachary and his wife,Christina, recently celebrated theirfive-year anniversary.

ANNETTE REITER (M.A.) is thefounder and vice president ofTransitions and You, a seminar,workshop and training company.She was invited to present herresearch on Generation Y at thenational conference of the AmericanAssociation for Marriage and FamilyTherapy. Last year, she publishedher first book, Blast Off: Preparing for College and Beyond. She also canbe seen on her YouTube channel,Parent911.

RAE RICHARD (MSN) passed theacute care nurse practitioner boardin 2000. In 2008, she was the first

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From construction zone to comfort zone

On track to open in Fall 2009, the new Student Life Pavilion will be a home away from home for the entire USD community. Its 55,000 square feet will house dining areas, a market,

lounges, student leadership offices, a rooftop garden and a whole lot more. The options for building community are limitless.

Be a part of the latest addition to campus life. Go to www.sandiego.edu/studentlifepavilion or call (619) 260-7514.

www.sandiego.eduwww.sandiego.edu

53431U_32_IBC:46416USD_36_52 1/27/09 9:08 PM Page 41

TODD PHILLIPS (B.A.) earned an MBA from Pepperdine Universityin 2007.

KATE (KUTCHINS) PRUEHER(BBA) is the customer service director for designer CatherineMalandrino. She and her husband,Josh, were married recently andthey live in New York City. Josh is an investment banker.

JACQUELINE (FOSTER) ROWE(BBA) and her husband, Christopher’99, were married at Founders Chapelon April 28, 2007. Jacqueline is anapparel associate product technicianat Charlotte Russe Corporate.

JENNIFER DAVIDSON SHAW(B.A.) and her husband, Demetrieus,were married on July 26, 1999. Theywelcomed a son, D.J., on May 17,2000, and twin daughters, Jillian andJayde, on September 5, 2002.

[ 2 0 0 0 ]TODD ATKINS (J.D.) continues towork with fellow USD Law Schoolgraduate Clark Davidson, providinggeneral civil litigation and businesstransaction services. Todd alsoobtained a California real estate bro-ker’s license and represents buyersand sellers of property.

DAWN (BAKER) BURTON (B.A.)and her husband, Dustin, were mar-ried in March 2006. Dawn earned amaster’s degree in Pacific internation-al affairs from the University ofCalifornia, San Diego, in June 2006.Dawn and Dustin live in Naples, Italy,where she is the business managerfor Navy Region Europe.

CHRIS COOK (MBA) and Kristina(Wagner) Cook were married onSept. 6, 2008 in Tucson, Ariz. Chrisand Kristina met at USD while Chriswas teaching as an adjunct profes-sor and Kristina was working in theAhlers Center for InternationalBusiness. The wedding was attendedby multiple USD MBA alumnae fromthe classes of 1999 and 2000,including Erich and Suzanne(Phillips) Von Thaden, Andy andDaniele (Dilling) Pollin, Mark andEmilie (Johnson) Hersh, ShaunaPribyl, Andreas Roell, SonnyChisolm, and Bob and Nancy

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nurse practitioner to complete the Surgeon’s Evaluation and Self-Assessment Program through theAmerican College of Surgeons. Shealso serves as a precept for USD stu-dents interested in a career as anurse or nurse practitioner in anacute care setting. Rae continues to work with a surgeon who special-izes in trauma, general, laparoscopicand vascular surgery.

DEBORAH ROMERO (MSN) is aU.S. Navy officer reservist and wasselected to serve on the USN Mercyfor a humanitarian mission toSingapore and Australia during thesummer of 2008. She was recalled toserve on active duty from 2005 to2007 in support of Iraqi EnduringFreedom.

JANINE LE FEUVRE STASSEN(B.A., M.A. ’05) and her husband,John, welcomed a daughter,Madeleine Marie, on Jan. 27, 2008.Madeleine joins older brother,Christopher. The family moved backto San Diego from Albuquerque inthe summer of 2008.

LISA STEPHENS (MSN) retiredfrom the Navy Nurse Corps in 2005and now works part time as a familynurse practitioner. She lives inStafford, Va., with her daughter,Hannah, 12, “a spirited, lovely younglady,” says Lisa. They hope to return to Washington state when the hous-ing market improves. Lisa and herhusband, Doug ’97, were divorced in April 2008.

PAUL TONTZ (B.A.) earned a Ph.D.in higher education administrationfrom the University of Denver inAugust 2008. His dissertation studywas on gay male Division I athletes.

[ 1 9 9 9 ]MEGAN (BRENNAN) BALDWIN(BBA) and her husband, Andrew,were married in July 2008 at the ElCortez in San Diego. Included in thewedding party were USD alumni JillPetersen, Joy Limanon, Stephanie(Miller) Bryson and Lyra Ericson.Andrew is a sales executive atMitchell International and Megan isan analyst for Barney and Barney, aninsurance brokerage firm. Megan andAndrew live in Kensington with theirnew puppy, Grady.

TIFFANY BARZAL (B.A.) graduat-ed from Harvard Law School in 2002.

Carretta, along with USD professorsLinda and Craig Barkacs. Chris's par-ents were also in attendance: CurtisCook, former dean of the School of Business, and Ruth Cook, formerUSD education professor. Kristina isnow the MBA program manager atthe University of Arizona and Chrisis a director at PricewaterhouseCoopers in their merger and acquisi-tion group. Chris and Kristina cur-rently live in Tucson, Ariz.

ANNELISE (WEISS) DAVIS(B.A.), her husband, Dan, and theirdaughter, Ainsley Elizabeth, live inSeattle, where Annelise works parttime from home. “My work allows meto be at home with Ainsley, but tokeep my brain working at the sametime,” she says. “I love being a mom!”

DAVID DENES (B.A.) is the pro-gram director for 104.3 MY FM radioin Los Angeles.

RANEE (RHODES) FISHER (BBA)and her husband, Paul ’01, welcomed ababy girl, Madison Ryan, on June 18,2008. She weighed 6 pounds, 14ounces, and was 20 inches long. “Allthree of us are doing great!” says Ranee.

PETER GARUCCIO (J.D., M.A.’01) and his wife, Christy, welcomedtheir first child, Peter John “Jack,” onApril 26, 2007. Christy works for ahealth care consulting company andPeter has been director of public rela-tions for the American BankersAssociation in Washington, D.C., fortwo years. Prior to that, he was coun-sel for a state government affairs firmin Alexandria, Va.

ROSEMARY (LUELLEN) GEELAN(B.Acc.) joined PricewaterhouseCoopers when she graduated fromUSD. She earned her CPA license andtransferred to Denver in December2003. Rosemary went on an interna-tional secondment to Brisbane,Australia, and from there traveled toeight countries and every majorAustralian city. She returned to workin Denver in April 2008.

STEPHANIE (BOOS) HOYLE(B.A.) and her husband Jamie weremarried in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho onJuly 26, 2008 at the Coeur d'AleneResort and Golf Course, overlookingthe floating green. Fellow TorerosJennifer Boos ‘05 and Ashley Jones‘05 were part of the wedding party.After a four day wedding “weekend,”

She wed David Ayres on Feb. 2, 2008in Founders Chapel; the couple wasmarried by Father Ron Pachence. She is the in-house council for a firmin Del Mar, Calif. Tiffany and her hus-band currently reside in Costa Mesa,Calif. David is attending graduateschool at UCLA; the couple plans to return to the San Diego area after his graduation.

TONY BERTOCCHINI (BBA) andAllie (Lunden) ’00 welcomed theirsecond child, Thomas Joseph, onMarch 5, 2008. The family lives inOrange County, Calif.

PATRICK GILL (B.A.) and his wife Rebecca moved to Seattle inJune 2008. The couple is proud toannounce Rebecca's graduation fromUC Irvine’s School of Medicine; she is now a resident physician at theUniversity of Washington. Patrick isan associate broker with ColdwellBanker Bain in Mercer Island, Wash.,specializing in the listing and sellingof residential real estate in theGreater Seattle Region.

COURTNEY HERNANDEZ (B.A.)is enjoying her first year at home as afull-time mom after having taughtthird grade for seven years. She andher husband, James, welcomed theirthird son, Micah, on Feb. 20, 2008.

JULIETTE (LEWIS)MCDONOUGH (B.A.) and her husband, Jim, welcomed a son, Ryan Michael, on Nov. 19, 2007.“Older brother, Brady, 2, is happy to have a little brother to play ballwith,” Juliette says. Juliette and Jimmoved to Phoenix from Boston in2006. Jim is a field sales engineer for Linear Technology Corp. andJuliette is an at-home mom and still runs marathons.

RYAN MEYERS (B.A.) and his wife,Sierra, welcomed a beautiful babygirl, Ella Rose, on Feb. 26, 2008. Ryanearned a doctor of physical therapydegree from the University of SaintAugustine and plans to open a pri-vate outpatient orthopedic physicaltherapy practice.

SONIA BELL MORRISROE (BBA)and her husband, Joshua ’99, cele-brated the arrival of Dylan on March19, 2008. They live in Redondo Beach,Calif., where Josh is an editor anddirector in the entertainment indus-try and Sonia is a first-grade teacher.

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HOLLEE (CHAPMAN) SAVILLE(B.A.) and husband Jonathan cele-brated their fifth wedding anniver-sary in June and welcomed secondson Preston on Aug. 15. The familylives in St. Michael, Minn., and is com-pleted by big brother Jaxen (2).Jonathan is a conductor for BNSFRailroad and Hollee runs an in-homepreschool, Happee Hollee's Childcare.

SISTER COLETTE SMITH (M.A.)has lived in New Hampshire, Floridaand, currently, Idaho. She says thepurpose of each of these moves wasto assist the impoverished. In Idaho,Sister Colette assists local immigrantworkers through the local church.

LISA-KAY STONE (BBA, M.Ed.’06) and Dr. Christopher Pierotti weremarried on June 7, 2008, at St. Pius XCatholic Church in Dallas, Texas.

[ 2 0 0 1 ]LAUREN (ORECHWA) ARZU(B.A.) and her husband, Oscar ’02,were married at Founders Chapel inOctober 2004. USD alumni in thewedding party included Michelle(Bipat) Behrooznia, RasheedBehrooznia and Chris Smith. Laurenand Oscar have lived in WoodlandHills, Calif., since 2005. They wel-comed their daughter, Nyla, onMarch 14, 2008, and enjoy everymoment with her.

CHRISTA (LEWIS) BACKBERG(B.A.) and her husband, Ben, wel-comed their first baby girl on June 9,2008.

DEVON BOZLINSKI (B.A.) hasworked at SAIC for more than fiveyears as a dolphin trainer for the U.S.Navy Marine Mammal Program. Sheand Dylan Gaudet ’00 bought ahouse in La Mesa in September 2007and they enjoy life with their twodogs and working on the house.

CHRISTINE BROWN (MFA) hasbeen working in professional theaterin New York and across the country,including roles at the Old Globe inSan Diego in 2002 and 2006 and therole of Gwendolen in The Importanceof Being Earnest at the South CoastRep in Orange County in 2008. Shealso was featured in an article on theMFA program in the Spring 2007issue of USD Magazine.

CHRISTOPHER CAPISTRAN(B.A.) is a certified personal trainer

specializing in holistic fitness train-ing. He also volunteers with SGI.org, aBuddhist network that promotespeace, culture and education.

SCOTT FELBER (B.A.) has beenteaching and coaching football at hisalma mater, Orestimba High School, inNewman, Calif., since graduating fromUSD. Scott and his wife, Anabella, have a son, Drew, 2. The family welcomed adaughter, Liv Isabella, on Sept. 23, 2008.She weighed 9 pounds.

FELIPE GUTIERREZ (BSN, MSN’03) recently published an article inCritical Care Nursing Quarterly,“Deducing Falls in a DefinitiveObservation Unit: An Evidence-BasedPractice Institute ConsortiumProject.”

JUSTIN JELINEK (BBA) is thewine director at the PlumpJack Café,a restaurant in Squaw Valley. He wasmarried on March 22, 2008, and thecouple celebrated a second weddingin August in Argentina, his wife’snative country.

MELISSA (WILLARD) MANN(B.A.) and her husband, Chris, weremarried in September 2007 at theMandalay Bay in Las Vegas. They livein Fresno, Calif., where Melissa is astore manager for Bebe and Chris is a project manager for Gottschalks.Melissa is also working toward a master’s degree in marriage and family counseling.

SHARON MCGUIRE (Ph.D.)recently published an article inAdvances in Nursing Science with co-author J. Boyle. titled, “The ele-phant in the room: Critical reflectionson militarism, war and their healthcontingencies.” She and Dr. SueIdczak secured their first nursingscholarship grant from the CliveFoundation for Registered Nurses inlong term care to complete their BSNin the Siena Heights new nursingprograms.

KRISTEN (KREUZER) NIELSEN(B.A.) and husband Jeppe Nielsen(’99, MBA ‘01) welcomed identicaltwin boys on Aug. 14, 2008. Fredrikand Thomas join older sisters Hanne(born Dec. 4, 2003) and Julie (bornSept. 4, 2006). “We are proud parentsto four beautiful children, and ourfamily is now complete!” The familylives in Oslo, Norway where Kristenworks as a Montessori teacher and

SPRING 2009 43

the couple was happy to get awayand honeymoon at LikuLiku LagoonResort in Fiji. Stephanie is marketingmanager for a biotech company andhas started her own event planningbusiness; Jamie is a mortgage brokerin Rancho Santa Fe. The couple livesin downtown San Diego.

AMY (CHAFFIN) HSIUNG (B.A.)and her husband, Michael, were marriedon Feb. 23, 2008. They met while livingin New York City and have moved toPhoenix, where Amy is pursuing a doc-toral degree in clinical psychology.

VALERIE (VILLI) KENNEDY(B.A., M.A. ’07) got married atFounders Chapel in April 2008.Husband Brian Kennedy is a currentUSD law student; Valerie works as asenior assistant director inUndergraduate Admissions. The wedding party included many USDalums, including bridesmaids Jodi(Burgess) Kraft ’99, Stephanie (Guild)Schwarz ’99, Alison Heilman ’03 andEmily (Stevenson) Zierolf ’03; ushersJim Bonner ’03, Steve Jones ’02(M.A.); and reader Jordan Freitas ‘06.

JOSE MERCADO (B.A.) is a staffsergeant in the Air Force serving as apara-rescueman. He has had severaltours overseas.

MIKE MILLIGAN (B.A.) became aprincipal at Barney & Barney in SanDiego, the second youngest in the100-year history of the company.“Greatly enjoyed watching USDdefeat UConn in Waikiki, Hawaii, sur-rounded by UConn alumni,” he says.

DARCY RAMEKER (BBA, M.A.’03) is the associate director of stu-dent activities at Penn State University.She guides the students in service-learning, leadership, student organiza-tions, the campus programming boardand the Center for Arts & Crafts.

JEFFREY RAMOS (B.A.) graduat-ed from the Medical College ofVirginia in 2004 and completed one year of psychiatry training atthe University of California, SanDiego, before changing specialtiesto internal medicine. He completed his internal medicine residency atScripps Mercy Hospital in June 2008 and joined Scripps La Jolla in July as a hospitalist. Jeffrey andhis wife, Samantha, were married in October 2006 and they honey-mooned in Spain.

Jeppe works as a sales representativein the family business.

GINA (SAFRO) RESCH (BBA) andher husband live in the Lake Countryarea of Milwaukee. They have beenmarried for two years and both teachmiddle school in the area. Gina is alsothe varsity girls’ tennis coach for heralma mater, Arrowhead High School,and a tennis pro at the local athleticand tennis club.

ERIC STRONGIN (J.D.) wasrecruited by Sedgwick, Detert, Moranand Arnold’s insurance coverage andbad faith litigation department. Hewas recruited for his experience han-dling large disputes, international lawbackground and fluency in Spanishin order to handle a multimillion-dol-lar coverage arbitration in Spain.

ELIZABETH (WEST)WEATHERUP (BBA) and her hus-band, Bryan ’99, have lived in Texas,Florida, Japan and, currently,Germany. They have two children:Evelyn, 4, and Carter, 1. Elizabeth is astay-at-home mom but looks forwardto returning to work when her chil-dren are in school.

[ 2 0 0 2 ]MEGAN BOYSEN (B.A.) graduat-ed from the University of California,Irvine, School of Medicine in June2007 and she is currently in an emer-gency medicine residency at UCIMedical Center.

PAIGE (HENRY) DAVIS (B.A.)and her husband, Trey, were marriedon Dec. 31, 2007, in Columbia, Mo.Paige is an interior designer.

ROBERT DOHERTY (B.A.) and hiswife, Melissa, welcomed a son,Robert Finnegan, on Nov. 29, 2007.

REBECCA (MILLEA) FABOZZI(B.A.) and her husband, Jake ’02,celebrated the arrival of their son,Lawrence, on April 19, 2008. Heweighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces, andwas 20-1/2 inches long. “He is a beau-tiful and healthy baby boy, and weare enjoying every minute of beingnew parents,” Rebecca says.

ROBYN FORTNEY (B.A.) changedjobs and is now in sales with GreatAmerican Opportunities.

ANTHONY GENARO (BBA) andhis wife, Kortney, just purchased a

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USD MAGAZINE44

magine, just for a moment, aworld without cell phones,without computers, without

cable TV, without instantaneousmedia overload. It’s quiet with-out the omnipresent backgroundhum, isn’t it? There’s no going off the grid, at

least not in this office, where nineflat-screen monitors flicker fromdusk to dawn, where the phonenever stops ringing, new e-mailkeeps piling up and decisions

clamor to be made without hesita-tion. But it’s just another day atthe office for Allison Marsh. Here,every moment is about movingforward; that’s the only way tokeep from falling behind.“I watch the news all day every

day,” says Marsh, supervising pro-ducer for CNN’s Larry King Live.Just now, four of the nine mutedmonitors facing her desk featuretalking heads, one is advertising aheartburn medication, one is pro-

I

THE GLAMOUR OF IT ALLFrom politics to pop culture, supervising producer forLarry King strives to keep the news fresh on a daily basis

by Julene Snyder

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viding live courtroom footage, twoare teasing upcoming shows andone is deciding participants for the“Showcase Showdown.”“The news changes all day,

every day. Basically, there are 500 channels and they are allour competitors.” Marsh explains. “I follow them all day just to seewhat the lead story is.” For the last six years, the 1998

USD graduate has been privy tothe inner workings of CNN’s

longest running interview pro-gram, and judging by the dozensof photos of herself with luminar-ies ranging from PresidentsClinton and Bush to GeorgeClooney to Paul McCartney to ParisHilton to Brad Pitt, the star poweris a given. “What I love about myjob is that it never gets old,” saysMarsh. While the presidential cam-paign dominated much of 2008,before that, the focus was crimestories like Natalie Holloway andthe Peterson trial. “Oh, and beforethat, it was pop culture for a while.Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears,Paris Hilton. We were almost anAccess Hollywood type show.Now, of course, it’s politics.” The self-possessed Marsh clear-

ly doesn’t let the intensity of klieglights, ticking clocks and non-

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new house. Anthony is celebratingthe sixth year in business with hiscompany, Unrest Music Group. Oneof his clients, Aaron Watson, recentlydebuted his new release in the Top30 of the Billboard country musiccharts. Anthony is developing busi-ness plans for a real estate invest-ment firm and also a restaurant.

TIFFANY GRIDLEY (BBA, B.A.)and Joshua Traver were married inJuly 2008 at Founders Chapel, with areception at Tom Ham’s Lighthouse.They honeymooned in Costa Rica.

NICHOLAS HELLBUSCH (BBA)earned an MBA from California StateUniversity, Long Beach, and he hasbeen a database coordinator andbusiness analyst with All NipponAirways for three years. He recentlyspent two weeks in Thailand with fel-low alumni Dave Landers and LeviConsidine.

BRITTA (OELS) HERSHMAN(B.A.) teaches both Italian andGerman at Pikes Peak CommunityCollege in Colorado Springs, Colo.“Loving it!” she writes.

SHANNON HONORE (B.A.) grad-uated from the University of Arizonawith a nursing degree in 2005 andshe works in the emergency depart-ment of Tucson Heart Hospital.Shannon has three children: Maliyah,7, Leilana, 5, and Bryce, born inJanuary 2008.

LISA (CHAPPARONE) HUGHES(B.Acc.) and her husband, Mike,have been married for three years andthey have a son, Tyler, born on June30, 2007, and a daughter, Delaney,born on July 7, 2008. Delaney weighed7 pounds, 5 ounces, and was over 19 inches long. “She and her brotherare 12 months and seven days apart!”Lisa notes. A stay-at-home mom, Lisastarted an event planning businesscalled 1st Choice Occasions. Her hus-band owns Network Titan, a computerconsulting business. “I am so thankfulfor what life has offered me and lookforward to seeing what the futureholds,” she says.

CHRISTOPHER MANK (B.A.)graduated from the USD School ofLaw with a J.D. degree in May 2008.

GEORGE SALTER (J.D.) andNicole Davidson ’02 welcomed theirfirst child, Heathcliff Caspian, on April

SPRING 2009 45

TIM

MANTOANI

8, 2008. George is a financial adviser atSmith Barney and Nicole is a solo prac-titioner in the field of trusts andestates. The family lives in Alamo, Calif.

ANNE SKIDMORE (B.A.) has beenpart of the campus ministry atCalifornia State University, San Marcos,through the InterVarsity ChristianFellowship. In the summer of 2008, shevisited Mexico City on a Global UrbanTrek to live with and learn from non-government organizations offeringcommunity development and reliefwork among the urban slums.

JUSTIN SMITH (B.A.) andAmanda Phelps Weems ’03 were married on Dec. 4, 2004, and theywelcomed a beautiful daughter,Savannah Grace, into their family onAug. 28, 2006. Both Amanda andJustin are in education. They livedoutside of Philadelphia for four yearsand now live in The Woodlands,Texas. “We love our life together,”Justin says.

JAMES WAREHAM (B.A.) isstudying for a master’s degree incounseling psychology at NationalUniversity and he works in residentialcare and as a behavioral coach withseverely emotionally disturbed chil-dren. James lives with his girlfriend,Kayte, in Ocean Beach.

KELLY (EWERTZ) WEINSTEIN(B.A.) and her husband, Myles ’04,were married on April 12, 2008, in Santa Monica. They enjoyed a honeymoon in South Africa andMozambique and returned to live inSanta Monica. Kelly is a marketingmanager and Myles is working towardan MBA at Pepperdine University.

ROBERT WHITTEMORE (B.A.)married Kristin Faulstich ’03 at TheImmaculata on March 10, 2007. Their ceremony was officiated byMonsignor Daniel Dillabough, whotaught Kristin about Christian marriagewhile she was a student at USD.

LARRY WILLIAMS (B.A.) and hiswife, Tamara, have four children: LaToya, 15, one of California’s top highschool track athletes; Lauryn, 2; andtwins Kaitlyn and Tiffany, 6 months.Larry founded the Williams TalentAgency, which he notes is the largestAfrican-American-owned talentagency in the world.

stop interruptions distract herfrom the task at hand. “It’s allabout what Larry King can do.That’s what makes us differentthan any other show.”Originally from Portland,

Oregon, Marsh fell in love withthe University of San Diego themoment she saw the campus. “Ihad an amazing college experi-ence,” she gushes. In fact, for herrecent 10-year reunion, she gottogether with a group of collegefriends and rented a house on thebeach. “We pretended like wewere back in college again. Wewalked around campus and wereamazed at how much has beendone. We didn’t think it could getbetter, but it really has.”After graduation, Marsh moved

to San Francisco. “It was right

when the dot-com crazinesshad started; me and half theUSD class moved therebecause it was so easy to get ajob.” It was great — for a while.Then the crash came. “I remember sitting there

one day in a building we’dbought in downtown SanFrancisco, and I was the onlyone left on the whole floor. Itwas just silent, empty cubicles.”When an old friend, WendyWalker, called and asked ifshe’d be interested in comingback to San Diego, Marsh ini-tially hesitated. “She’s the exec-utive producer for Larry,” saysMarsh. “And she was lookingfor someone to basically helpher with the show, an assistantposition. I remember thinking,‘No, I’m a manager,’ but shesaid, ‘Just come down and seewhat you think.’It turned out to be a great

fit. “I got to listen to everyconversation she had, everysingle conference call[Walker] was on. She’s knownas one of the most powerfulwomen in media; she cameon board at CNN at the verybeginning. Being around her15 hours a day helped melearn quickly.”These days, Marsh splits her

time between offices in SanDiego and Los Angeles. Whilethe breakneck pace seemsexhausting, there are plenty ofperks. Such as the time she gotto see Paul McCartney play aprivate party for a few hundredguests, and was subsequentlyinvited to fly on a private planewith other Larry King staffers toLiverpool for a personal tour ofhis childhood home. “It wasamazing,” she says with a broadsmile. “It was crazy, insane, likenothing I’d ever experienced.” But just now, the phone

is, as usual, ringing off thehook. Time to get back towork, because the organizedchaos that is live televisionwaits for no one.

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USD MAGAZINE46

Jim loved his family, teaching, music,bicycling, hiking and the outdoors.

DIANE (TWOMEY) CASEY ’82(B.A.) passed away on June 24, 2008.A Woodland Hills, Calif., resident, Dianecourageously battled breast cancer for2 ½ years. She earned a bachelor’sdegree in history and, a year later,completed USD's paralegal program.

ALLEN G. MINKER ’73 (J.D.)passed away in Sept. 2008. He was ajudge, writer, world traveler andphilosopher.

JOHN O’TOOLE ’86 (BBA) passedaway in Aug. 2008. He graduatedfrom USD in 1986. He was a loving husband of 14 years to hiswife, Nancy, and devoted father tosons, Daniel (12) and Kevin (7).

MYRNA STOFLET ’62 (B.A.) diedon July 11, 2008. She was a scienceand math teacher in the SanFrancisco Unified School District andfounder of its Luisa and HaroldStoflet Scholarship for minoritywomen students in science.

E-mail your new address to alumni@sandiego.edu, or mail it to: Universityof San Diego, Advancement Services,5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego CA 92110

Send class notes to one of the followingaddresses and depending on space,we’ll do our best to get them in USD Magazine as soon as possible.Class notes may be edited for lengthand clarity. Engagements, pregnancies,personal e-mail addresses and tele-phone numbers cannot be published.

E-mail: classnotes@sandiego.eduWeb site: www.sandiego.edu/usdmagU.S. Mail: USD Magazine Class Notes,University of San Diego, Department of University Communications,University of San Diego, 5998 AlcaláPark, San Diego, CA 92110

Please note that Class Notes submitted after Jan. 1, 2009 will be considered for publica-tion in the Fall 2009 issue ofUSD Magazine

ASHLEY JACOBS (B.A.) marriedDaniel Liparini on May 4, 2008, in LaJolla. USD Latin professor John Fendrickofficiated at the ceremony and fellowalumna Sara Hill was a bridesmaid.Ashley and Daniel live in a row home in Federal Hill, Baltimore, Md.

LAUREN (BONIN) JOHNSON(B.A.) and her husband, Nels, weremarried on Dec. 29, 2007. They planto relocate from San Diego to Oregonbecause Nels was accepted into lawschool in Oregon.

NICHOLAS MARINKOVICH(B.A.) has been working at TakedaSan Diego Pharmaceuticals for threeyears and is looking forward toattending Creighton UniversitySchool of Medicine.

MILES ROMNEY (MAFM) teachesfinancial and managerial accountingcourses in the accounting depart-ment at USD’s School of BusinessAdministration. He also owns PACTFinancial Inc., an accounting andfinancial practice. “My wife, Amy ’03,works harder than I do by stayinghome to watch our two young chil-dren: Ava, 3, and Dylan, 2,” he says.“We are so glad to remain an activepart of the USD community.”

ELENA WIDMAN (B.A.) has beenin the field of social work since grad-uating from USD. She is currentlyworking toward a master’s degree insocial work at San Diego StateUniversity and expects to completethe program in 2010.

[ 2 0 0 6 ]WARREN RUIS (BBA) is a strategicsourcing adviser in supply manage-ment with San Diego Gas & Electric.He joined SDG&E as an associate con-tracting agent in 2006. Warren also isworking toward a master’s degree infinance at Pepperdine University.

MATT SKARZYNSKI (B.A.)received a Fulbright TeachingAssistantship to teach English in aMalaysian secondary school or univer-sity. He plans to work under the grantin Malaysia for the 2009 school year.

JAMES CARGILL ’67 (B.A., M.A.’75) passed away on May 18, 2008. Aretired educator and faculty leader,

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Send Class Notes

In Memoriam

Have You Moved?

[ 2 0 0 3 ]MELISSA BLAZEK (B.A.) is aSpanish teacher at Paloma Valley HighSchool in Menifee, Calif. She alsocoaches the girls’ volleyball team.

BASIL CONSIDINE (B.A.) is aPh.D. student in musicology and the-ory/composition at BostonUniversity. His opera, The Frat Party,had its world premiere in May 2008and he traveled to Italy during thesummer of 2008 to study choral con-ducting.

ANNA GABRIELE (B.A.) is a lawstudent at USD, and she expects tograduate in May 2009.

SARAH (HEDGES) GOEDHART(BBA) and her husband, Brent, weremarried on June 24, 2006. They liveon a vineyard in Eastern Washingtonwith their son, born on Feb. 19, 2008.Sarah and Brent started the GoedhartFamily Winery in 2006, with the firstvintage released in April 2008. Sarahis also the assistant winemaker forHedges Family Estate Winery.

HILARY LAW (B.A.) was an emer-gency medical technician for anambulance company and is now pur-suing a master’s degree in nursing atthe University of Washington.

NICOLE SAUNDERS (B.A.)moved to Northern California, whereshe is pursuing a master’s degree inbusiness. She lives in Santa Clara andalso works part time as a marketingintern.

JENNIFER (COOK) WOOLLEY(B.A.) teaches seventh-grade mathand science at Riverside PreparatorySchool in Oro Grande, Calif. She andher husband, Daniel, have been mar-ried for four years and they have a 2-year-old son.

KERRY (SJOSTEDT) ZAVAGLIA(B.A.) married John Zavaglia ’02 onApril 22, 2008. Kerry is a registerednurse; she works at Seattle Children’sHospital. John, a CPA and CFA charter-holder, is currently working as a regu-latory and capital markets consultingmanager for Deloitte & Touche.

[ 2 0 0 4 ]JON EPES (B.Acc.) is a senior asso-ciate, audit, at McGladrey & Pullen inSan Diego.

LAUREN (SAPP) HALL (B.A.)and Andrew Hall ’04 were married in Founders Chapel on Sept. 6, 2008.Andrew received his J.D. fromThomas Jefferson School of Law. The couple lives in Del Mar, Calif.

SHANNA (GELDERN) JOHNSON(MBA) spent two years as a materi-als project manager with Nokia,which gave her the opportunity totravel the world. “After my son wasborn, I changed gears and joined ourfamily business, Sweetfields Inc.,” shewrites. “That granted me the flexibili-ty in my schedule to stay home withmy son as well as the opportunity tobecome part owner and chief execu-tive officer.”

ADRIENNE MELANSON (B.A.)is a project control analyst withDefense and Maritime Solutions BUin San Diego.

MICHAEL REED (LL.M.) complet-ed his MBA and runs his own firm,Reed and Associates, which is active inboth California and Colorado. He alsohas been accepted to practice beforethe U.S. Supreme Court. Michael andhis wife, Kristina, have a son, Parker,born on Jan. 5, 2006, and a daughter,Taylor, born on Sept. 15, 2004.

[ 2 0 0 5 ]IRVIN CARLIN (BBA) is a searchmarketing manager for Covario Inc. inSan Diego. In this position, Irvin pro-motes Web sites by increasing theirvisibility in search engine results. Hemanages the paid placement andinclusion of Intel’s Web site worldwide.

MERRILL N. DIBBLE (IMBA)accepted a promotion as director ofoperations for AgroReservas, Mexicoin Aug. 2007. He and his family live in Los Mochis, Mexico where Merrilldirects a large commercial farm. Heand his wife, Kellie, have two children(Blake, 5, and Daniela, 2). They arepreparing to welcome child numberthree in Jan. 2009. “We love living inMexico and the dual degree reallyprepared me to do business here. The seafood is great and the peopleare wonderful!”

JENNIFER HOLM (BBA) complet-ed her MBA degree from theUniversity of Minnesota and is aninvestment banking associate atCredit Suisse in New York City.

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From special faculty lectures and alumni social events to Alumni Honors and the Student Life Pavilion dedication ceremony, the University of San Diego will be hosting myriad campus celebrations throughout the 60th Anniversary year. The year-long celebration will feature the black-tie Founders Gala in November that will honor the university’s six decades of unparalleled success in the advancement of education, intellectual development and community stewardship.

EVENTS2009 CALENDAR of

January January 5 USD Historical Display opens

Copley Library

January 29 All-Faith Service 12:15 p.m., The Immaculata

February February 7 60 Years of Torero Tradition

Men’s basketball, Toreros vs. University of San Francisco6 p.m., Jenny Craig Pavilion

February 11 Los Angeles Alumni Chapter Event

February 20 - 21 Grandparents Weekend

February 27 Special Anniversary Faculty Lecture and Reception2:30 p.m., Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice

March March 6 - 9 Las Vegas Alumni Chapter Event

WCC Basketball Championship Tournament

March 20 Kyoto Prize Symposium Arts and Philosophy recipient, Charles Taylor, Ph.D.3:30 p.m., Shiley Theatre

April April 24 60th Anniversary Symphony Concert

8 p.m., Shiley Theatre

April 24 International Student Organization Expo and Fashion Show7 p.m., Hahn University Center, Forum A/B

April 25 24th Annual Linda Vista Multicultural Fair 10 a.m., Parade and Festival, Linda Vista Community

Events and information are updated frequently. Visit www.sandiego.edu/sixty.

SPRING 2009 47

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May May 2 Alumni Honors

5:30 p.m., Jenny Craig Pavilion

May 9 San Francisco Alumni Chapter EventWine Tasting Reception 3 p.m., St. Supery Winery, Napa Valley

May 14 31st Annual Sports Banquet5:30 p.m., Jenny Craig Pavilion

May 16 School of Law Commencement Jenny Craig Pavilion

May 23 - 24 Commencement Weekend Jenny Craig Pavilion

June June 5 60th Anniversary Employee Picnic

Noon, Plaza de San Diego

July July 26 USD Wine Classic Fundraiser

Wine Tasting with USD Family Wineries2 p.m., Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice

September September 10 Mass of the Holy Spirit

12:15 p.m., The Immaculata

September 16 San Diego Magazine’s Women Who Move the City 6 p.m., Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice

September 23 Washington, D.C., Alumni Chapter Event

September 24 Student Life Pavilion Dedication CeremonyNoon - 2 p.m., Student Life Pavilion

September 24 New York Alumni Chapter Event

October October 8 The 20th Annual Social Issues Conference Keynote and

Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice Distinguished Lecture SeriesFeaturing medical anthropologist and physician Paul Farmer

October 16 - 18 Homecoming Weekend

October 23 - 25 Family Weekend

October 28 International Alumni Reunion in Mexico City, Mexico

October 29 Chicago Alumni Chapter Event

November November 5 - 6 International Alumni Reunion in Kyoto, Japan

November 11 Phoenix Alumni Chapter Event

November 12 Founders Day Celebration

November 14 60th Anniversary Founders Gala

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6 p.m., Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice

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SIXTY YEARS AND COUNTING

History Comes AliveThis year marks the 60th anniversaryof the San Diego College for Women,now the University of San Diego. The school was envisioned by BishopCharles Francis Buddy, the first bishop of the Diocese of San Diego,and Reverend Mother Rosalie CliftonHill of the Society of the SacredHeart of Jesus. Their dream was tobring higher education with aCatholic perspective to San Diego. To capture a more intimate por-

trait of these two founding membersand the beginnings of the university,we glimpse history through oralinterviews. The following storieswere collected from individuals whowere present during the founding of the University 60 years ago.

An Endearing BishopBishop Buddy started the ground-work on creating a college shortlyafter arriving in San Diego inFebruary of 1937. It was to be thetype of institution described andpromoted by Pope Pius XI: a schoolof liberal arts with Catholic theolo-gy and philosophy as its founda-tion. The Bishop’s grace and gentledemeanor seems to have assistedhim in his success; praise for BishopBuddy abounds. A reporter for theSan Diego Union once wrote, “The

Jesus to assist him carry his vision ofa school to fruition. In her Order,education represented the primaryapostolate of the society. In MotherHill, the Bishop found an agent withenergy, drive and fortitude; yet witha gentle demeanor that matchedhis own. “This was a dream, this uni-versity,” recalled Guest. “[Mother Hill]was a very sweet gentle person witha hand of fire. Her determinationalways came through but with hersweet manner. She commandedpeople very well, but not with anyulterior design, except she got agreat deal through her sweet man-ner. So she thought of this place fora long time and Bishop Buddy cameand asked her if she could sparesome nuns to open a college in hisdiocese ... He was up visiting in SanFrancisco, she was up on the moun-tain at the college there, at the SanFrancisco College for Women ... So itwas a number of years before theyfound this (Linda Vista property).And Bishop Buddy bought the

whole thing, the whole mesa hereand asked Mother Hill to selectwhat she wanted.”— Commentary and oral historyresearch by Matthew Nye. Specialthanks to USD archivist Diane Maher.

Tell us your story ...We welcome stories from all of thosewho’ve been involved with theUniversity of San Diego over the past60 years. Send your own story orphoto to: Editor, USD Magazine,5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA92110. E-mail: letters@sandiego.edu.

gift of oratory, the ready wit andperpetual smile of Bishop Buddyendears him to all.” Mother Agnes Murphy, RSCJ,

who worked for the school fromits inception until her retirementin 1977, recognized and noted thegenerosity and humbleness of theBishop, “Bishop Buddy was a greatfriend to us all. (He) was an out-standing man, a man of God, aman of terrific compassion for thepoor. I was dealing with a youngwoman who was very, very poor.Suddenly, I found out he was giv-ing her $20 a month, which backthen wasn’t a small sum, just totake care of herself and her kids —she was divorced.”

One Great ManIrving Parker, who came to theCollege for Men in the early1950s to work as secretary andadministrator for the newlyapproved G.I. Bill program,acknowledged the Bishop’s eminence when he said, “I haveknown three great men in mylifetime ... Bishop Buddy is cer-tainly one of those three. And hemay, in many ways, be the great-est of the three ... His foresightand drive, his personality, he wasindeed in the fullest sense of theword a founding bishop ... I sup-pose his personality is marked by

one of his famous phrases that hereiterated so often: there are twowords this diocese doesn’t know:can’t and won’t.’”

A Warm, Genial PersonSister Margaret Guest, noting whatshe believed were his modest andunassuming traits, said “Oh he wasa nice man. (He was) very fatherly,very warm, friendly, tremendouslyinterested in everything. Everyone

would think the Bishop was theone who lays down the law; whichof course was never true, ever. Henever interfered with anythingexcept as he could assist. But hewas a very, very warm genial per-son. We used to have him over forformals, semi-demi-quasi affairs atChristmas time. In the very begin-ning we had the students pay theirrespects to the Bishop on certainoccasions. We’d have him stay inthe theater or one of the largerooms and have the students greethim and address best wishes forpeace on his day.”

Energy and DriveIn Burt J. Boudoin’s Fortress on theHill, the author notes that “(Bishop)Buddy manifested a deep respecttoward nuns and a natural ease inhis dealing with women in general.” In his wisdom, Bishop Buddy

sought out Reverend Mother Hill ofthe Society of the Sacred Heart of

[ c e l e b r a t e ]

BISHOP CHARLES FRANCIS BUDDY

SISTER M

ARGARET G

UEST

IRVIN

G PARKER

REVEREND M

OTHER ROSALIE CLIFTON HILL

SPRING 2009 49

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